Carrie Underwood had one thing to say when an American Idol contestant performed Heart’s “Alone” during the show’s Hollywood Week.

Madison Moon, 21, a musician from Orlando, Florida, received a standing ovation from the judges after the performance that aired on Monday evening (February 23). Longtime host Ryan Seacrest pointed out to Moon’s parents that “Carrie did that song on the show a while back. Now, what is she going to say about that?”

Underwood famously performed “Alone” as a contestant on American Idol on the show’s fourth season in 2005. Simon Cowell, one of the judges at the time, boldly predicted that Underwood would not only win the season, but “sell more records than ay other previous Idol winner.” Underwood returned to American Idol as a judge for her first season last year, two decades after her own victory. During that season, she took the stage with “Alone” again to mark a full circle moment.

Now, Underwood was nearly speechless by Moon’s rendition.

“You are the only person on planet earth who has ever raised the key on that song. All I got to say is ‘dang!’” Underwood said. She added to judges Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan after Moon exited the stage, “(she) raised the freakin’ key!”

“I didn’t know it was possible to do that,” Bryan said.

This year, for the first time, Hollywood Week is taking place in Nashville, Tennessee. Contestants only have one round to deliver “make-or-break performances” during Hollywood Week: Music City Takeover, which makes this “the biggest Hollywood Week cut in Idol history,” per ABC. American Idol airs on ABC on Monday nights from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET/PT. It’s available to stream the next day on Hulu.

Bryan is part of the star-studded lineup of the 2026 iHeartCountry Festival. The show also includes Kane Brown, Parker McCollum, Riley Green, Shaboozey, Dylan Scott, Russell Dickerson, Gretchen Wilson, Chase Matthew and Lauren Alaina. iHeartRadio's Bobby Bones is returning as the event’s host. The show will take place on May 2 at Moody Center in Austin, Texas. Tickets to the show are available as of January 23. Fans across the country will be able to catch all the action as the 2026 iHeartCountry Festival will be broadcast live across iHeartCountry stations nationwide and the free iHeartRadio app on Saturday, May 2nd at 8pm ET/5pm PT (7pm CT).

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JJ Ryan