MUMBAI: Carrie Underwood says when she started her singing career with ‘American Idol’, she was anything but confident and that the reality show was "horrifying" for her.

Underwood, 32, was just 22 years old when she won the singing competition's fourth season in 2005, but it was scary for her, reports usmagazine.com.

“Idol was probably the most horrifying thing, because I had never been away from my hometown like that before,” Underwood told Parade magazine.

“I was in L.A., of all places, by myself, putting myself out there, which is a scary thing for anybody to do. My first plane ride was when I was going out to L.A. alone.”

And even though the ‘Storyteller’ singer now has seven Grammys under her belt and album sales of 56 million worldwide — making her one of the most successful Idol winners, alongside season one champion Kelly Clarkson — she admitted that she was bracing to walk away from the competition with a good experience.

“I always kept in my head, ‘If nothing else ever comes of this, I got to do the coolest thing ever and I won 'American Idol',” she told the magazine.

“I was like, ‘Okay, I will just have fun with this and save up as much money as I can and finish school and get a real job.’ Because I am always a practical thinker and would never allow myself to think it would turn out okay all the time.”