Carrie Underwood has always had a strong musical side, but she has not always had the desire to perform in public. In a new interview, Underwood's mother, Carole, reveals that although Underwood competed in talent shows from an early age, she sometimes disliked it so much that she'd be in tears beforehand.

Carole Underwood spoke to the Today Show for a segment called Through Mom's Eyes, which recounts Underwood's journey from small-town Oklahoma girl to country superstar. Carole says she saw that her daughter had "a gift from God" early on and pleaded with a friend who headed up the local Chamber of Commerce in Checotah, Okla., to secure spots for Underwood in various talent shows.

"And you know, she hated it, because her friends were gonna be out there," Carole shares.

"She didn't like to sing in front of her friends," Carole recounts. "And sometimes it was like, she might be crying before she would get up there to sing, but she did it."

That led to Underwood auditioning for American Idol, but even then, she did not believe she could win the show when she tried out for the 2005 season.

"I would say not an ounce of me thought I would win," she said in an interview at the 2020 Country Radio Seminar in Nashville. "I come from the tiniest town in the world. I'd never been on a plane before. I like to sing, but lots of people like to sing. I wanted to be a famous country music singer, but a lot of people do."

"What I honestly thought would happen was, I would go there, and the door would shut, and I could move on with the rest of my life, saying, 'Well, I tried,'" she added.

Instead, Underwood became an obvious standout contestant almost from the minute she auditioned for Season 4 of American Idol by singing Bonnie Raitt's "I Can't Make You Love Me." She went on to win Season 4 of the iconic reality TV singing competition, landing a record deal that resulted in the release of her debut album, Some Hearts, in 2005.

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