Carrie Underwood is about as wholesome as country music gets. She won “American Idol” back in 2005 as a farm girl from Oklahoma, a 22-year-old nobody had heard of before that summer, and she turned it into one of the biggest careers in the business. These days she’s back on the show, except now she sits on the other side of the table as one of the judges. The sweet, church-going singer is the Carrie most fans think they know.
So when a young contestant flipped things around and asked Carrie to name her three favorite movies of all time, nobody in the room was ready for the answer.
She smiled and started listing them off. By the time she finished, the contestant just stared and said, “I really wouldn’t have guessed this from you.”
This happened during Hollywood Week on Season 23, which aired in the spring of 2025. It was Carrie’s first year as a judge, and she was sitting next to Luke Bryan, the easygoing Georgia country star who’s been on the panel a long time. He loves to needle her, and this moment handed him plenty.
Here’s what she actually picked.
Her first one came out quick. “Probably Halloween.” Then she kept going. “A Nightmare on Elm Street, I’ve seen all of them. The Alien franchises.”
Every single pick was a scary movie. Not one warm family favorite in the mix. For a woman known best for gospel songs and Sunday mornings, it was a fun little curveball, and Luke ate it up. He called it the “dark side of Carrie,” then leaned back and said, “I’m scared to sit by her at this point.”
Turns out the lady who fills arenas with fans also loves a good fright once the lights go down.
And honestly, it tracks. Carrie goes all out for Halloween at home with her family every year.
Here’s a quick look at how she does the holiday with her boys.
Carrie Underwood talks about her son’s Halloween costume
One year she dressed as Cheer Bear from the Care Bears. Her husband, the former NHL player Mike Fisher, went as a character he called “Buck Daniels.” Their older son Isaiah was the Grinch, and baby Jacob came along as Max, the Grinch’s little dog. The whole family was in on it.
Another year she filmed Isaiah in an old-man outfit, complete with the shuffle, and asked him for “an old man dance,” which turned out just as funny as it sounds. She shares those little moments with fans because she gets as into the holiday as her kids do.
With Halloween landing this Saturday, her taste in movies makes a lot more sense. She clearly loves the spooky season, scary films and goofy costumes alike.
Would her three picks have been your guesses? The contestant who asked her sure didn’t see them coming.