Carrie Underwood, Luke Bryan and Lionel Richie got sneaky with a nervous American Idol hopeful.

Stay-at-home mom Abi Bowen, 24, shared a glimpse into her life on farm with goats, horses and cows in Blountville, Tennessee. The longtime Idol fan has watched the competition show for “as long as I can remember,” especially with her mother, Miriam, who was one of the people encouraging Bowen to audition someday. Bowen said she was always “too scared,” but after her mother passed away, she opted to give it a try. Bowen admitted though, that auditioning is “literally the craziest thing I’ve ever done in my life.” She said later that singing is a “huge fear.”

“Her mom used to sing all the time. So, I think…it’s a thing that connected them some,” Bowen’s husband, Matt, said in an interview on the show. When asked whether he believes his wife knows how talented she is, Matt quickly replied, “no.”

Bowen stepped into the American Idol audition room wearing dark sunglasses during the show's season premiere on Sunday evening (March 9). She removed them briefly to introduce herself to the judges, but opted to wear them during her performance, “and I’m also going to turn around, if that’s OK.” Bowen faced the opposite direction with her sunglasses on and her eyes closed as she delivered a stunning rendition of “I Can’t Make You Love Me” by Bonnie Raitt (the same song Underwood sang when she auditioned for former judges Randy Jackson, Paula Abdul and Simon Cowell two decades ago). Richie said it was likely a “first” that an Idol hopeful auditioned with her back turned to the panel of judges.

Shortly into Bowen’s performance, Bryan quietly got Underwood’s attention and gestured toward the Tennessee singer. Underwood gently tapped Richie’s shoulder as she and Bryan rose from their seats, and the trio tip-toed across the room. They stopped in front of Bowen, who appeared shocked to see the judges standing in front of her when she opened her eyes at the end of her audition.

“You know this is a TV show and people are going to see you?” Underwood said as Bowen shyly smiled. Matt and the couple’s young son, Stetson, joined Bowen as the judges shared their thoughts.

“I want you to decide what you want out of this,” Underwood said. “Do you want to be in front of people, on a stage, singing? Is that what you want? If we send you on, one of two things will happen. You’re either going to figure it out and (we’ll) be like, ‘who is this girl?’ Or you’re going to drown in Hollywood.”

Bryan likened Bowen to former American Idol finalist Emmy Russell, a Tennessee-based singer-songwriter whose grandmother is late legend Loretta Lynn. Bryan said Russell “started just like you.” Despite her nervousness during her audition, Russell went on to deliver strong performances on the show and made it into the Top 5. Richie agreed, “you’ve got the goods, if you could just get it out.”

“You have a lot of work to do, Miss Abi,” Underwood said. “You can’t wear your glasses. I mean, this is serious…got it?” She added in a post on X, formerly Twitter, that “Abi is so unique and cool. I wanna be her best friend. She just needs some confidence. She can succeed if she wants to…she definitely needs to go to Hollywood. Also, I want her shirt.”

Ultimately, the judges decided that Bowen is going to Hollywood, “whether you like it or not,” Richie said. Watch Bowen’s self-proclaimed “chaotic” audition here:

Interviews