Carrie Underwood received an emotional surprise on Sunday night’s (March 16) episode of American Idol. It was a throwback to one of her favorite Idol memories, as has been the case with many of her other moments as a judge.
Ryan Seacrest, the show’s host, introduced the surprise by walking Underwood through the backstage area of the Idol set and out to a rooftop stage.
As they walked, he recalled her 2012 visit to the PS22 Chorus, a Webby-winning children’s chorus based at a public elementary school on Staten Island in New York City.
In April 2012, Underwood paid a visit to the group’s school and led them in singing her songs “Good Girl” and “So Small”. Her VH1 Behind the Music documentary featured footage from the performance, and the kids also joined her to sing “So Small” at a December 2012 concert in New York City.
Underwood was completely taken aback when she saw the current PS22 Chorus lineup standing on risers on the outdoor stage, along with director Gregg Breinberg, the same leader the group had when she first met them.
“And they’re going to perform for you this time,” Seacrest informed Underwood.
“What?!” she said.
The chorus once again sang Underwood’s tender 2007 ballad “So Small,” about how love overcomes all of life’s problems and hardships.
Oh my gosh. “This is so beautiful,” said a visibly moved Underwood, before joining them to sing a chorus of the song — just as she did 13 years ago, before this generation of PS22 students were even born.
At the end of the song, the singer was wiping away tears.
“I apologize! “They got me,” she said, hugging Breinberg before turning to face the children.
Thank you. “You guys just gave me the greatest gift,” she told them.
Underwood posted a photo of herself with the PS22 kids on Instagram Stories, praising their performance on X with the caption, “Such a sweet surprise!” “Those kids did an incredible job.”
It’s Underwood’s first season as a judge on American Idol, but she’s no stranger to the show: she won the show in 2005, and her return coincides with the 20th anniversary of that career-launching win.