Carrie Underwood stepped away from her role as a judge to perform during the first live episode of American Idol Season 24.
The two-hour episode featured the show’s second consecutive Songs of Faith Night, where the Top 20 contestants performed music connected to their personal journeys. The night opened with Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan joining the contestants for a group performance of “Jesus Is Love.”
One of the standout moments came when Underwood took the stage to sing “How Great Thou Art.” She was joined by Season 23 platinum ticket winners Filo Ebid, Kolbi Jordan, and Canaan James Hill for the performance.
The song has been an important part of Underwood’s career. She first performed it for a national audience in 2011 during the ACM Girls’ Night Out: Superstar Women of Country concert, where Vince Gill accompanied her. Since then, it has become one of her most recognized performances.
Underwood later included the hymn on her 2014 album Greatest Hits: Decade #1 and performed it again on American Idol in 2025 during the show’s first Songs of Faith Night.
This year’s episode aired during the week of Easter, when Christians around the world observe the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. While not every performance during the episode followed a Christian theme, all songs were selected to reflect inspiration and personal meaning.
Underwood has been credited as a key figure behind introducing Songs of Faith Night to the show, making her performance a central part of the episode once again.
Viewers can watch her performance of “How Great Thou Art” from the episode online.
