Honestly, I would’ve thought it was the opposite… but if you’re planning to audition on American Idol while Carrie Underwood is still a judge, maybe stick with a good old fashioned cover. This season of the reality singing competition kicked off last week, returning for its 24th season. Luke Bryan and Lionel Richie returned as judges for their eight years as judges, and it marks Carrie’s second season as judge, and she of course won the show in 2005. And during a recent interview, Carrie was asked about whether or not it’s an advantage for contestants to sing their own original music rather than a cover, which is traditionally what most contestants do especially during the audition process. Over the last several years, though, more and more Idol hopefuls have taken the risk and sang their own music, which I would’ve though would be an advantage especially if it’s a great song, but also, it’s a huge risk because these are all amateur musicians so you never know how someone like Lionel, Luke or Carrie will react given how much knowledge and experience they have when it comes to songwriting… I mean, Richie wrote “We Are The World” for crying out loud, so you better BRING it with an original song if that’s what you choose for your audition, but I digress… Carrie explained that actually, she prefers when contestants just outright nail a cover rather than trying to sing their own music, because it can be hard to analyze the voice and the song at the same time if it’s one she’s never heard before. In fact, she likened to it to going to see your favorite artist and when you get to the concert, they only play songs from an album that hasn’t come out yet, so you don’t end up knowing any of the music: “It’s kind of hard to listen to a lot of originals, because you’re not just judging their voice, you’re also trying to figure out the song. So your brain’s not really getting to focus on their voice after like the bazillionth original song that we’ve listened to. I was like, I feel like I’m at a concert where I paid my money and went to go see an artist that I love, and they’re doing their entire new album and they’re not doing any of their hits, you know what I mean? That’s what I feel like. The best thing to me when I watch ‘American Idol’ is when somebody just nails a song that I love, that makes me want to vote for them even more.” I’ve actually never thought about it like that, and I totally thought she was going to say the exact opposite, but that actually makes a lot of sense…seeing the show on TV of course looks smooth and polished, but I’m sure in real life the auditions are all a blur, so I can see why she prefers hearing an incredible cover for the early part of the audition process. If you ever plan to go out for Idol, it’s some great advice to keep in mind, too: @ontheredcarpet Should you sing an original song when auditioning for “American Idol”? Carrie Underwood has the answers. Watch new episodes Mondays on ABC and stream on Hulu. #AmericanIdol ♬ original sound – On The Red Carpet But the exception to Carrie’s rule might be a song called “String Cheese,” which 25-year-old contestant Hannah Harper performed during this week’s audition. She told the judges that it was inspired by her journey with postpartum depression after having three children and having a moment where her son asked her to open some string cheese for him, and she realized she was doing what she was meant to do as a mom. Carrie, a mother of two boys herself, very much related to the sentiment of the song, getting emotional while Hannah sang and even shedding some tears during the audition. It was a beautiful moment, and it’s a beautiful song, which you can watch below. If you can pull out an original like this, with an inspiring story to match, I think you can sing whatever kind of original song you want: The post Carrie Underwood Has Surprising Response As To Whether Or Not She Likes Hearing Original Songs During ‘American Idol’ Auditions first appeared on Whiskey Riff.