The Untold Truth Of Carrie Underwood

Before her experience on American Idol, Carrie Underwood grew up in the small town of Checotah, Okla., with a population of about 3,200. Along with its current claim to fame as Underwood's hometown, Checotah is also the steer-wrestling capital of the world.

In Underwood's family, traveling was done with wheels, not wings, and, during a 2019 appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, she revealed that, up until she nailed her Idol audition and won a Golden Ticket to Hollywood, she had never been on an airplane. Admitting she was a little freaked out by air travel, Underwood told host Stephen Colbert that hadn't really changed. "It still freaks me out, to be honest," she said. "I'm 36 years old and I've been to lots of airports. But back then I was by myself, and there were lots of connecting flights to get there."

In fact, she missed her connecting flight to Los Angeles and feared she wouldn't make it there in time for the taping. "I'm on the phone with whoever our contact person was, and I'm, like, 'Please don't kick me off the show,'" she recalled.