Carrie Underwood had second thoughts again on the way to the airport to fly to Hollywood for the next round of auditions: "All at once, it was just too much. Going out to Los Angeles by myself, competing with all those other people who were so talented. I burst into tears. My dad turned to me in the backseat. 'Carrie,' he said, 'we can go home right now, and we don't ever have to talk about it again.' I took a deep breath. 'No,' I said at last. 'I'll go.'"

The trip was her first time ever flying on a plane, she explained to Stephen Colbert in 2019 (via YouTube), calling the experience "terrifying." She confessed, "It still freaks me out, to be honest ... back then, I was by myself, and there were lots of connecting flights to get there ... but I made it!'"