Carrie Underwood is officially back on American Idol 20 years after she won the show. Of course, now — as Season 23 airs on the 2025 TV schedule — she’s on the other side of things, judging up-and-comers alongside Luke Bryan and Lionel Richie.

When 18-year-old Zaylie Windsor auditioned during the Sunday, March 30, episode of the singing competition, she performed an original song titled “The Used” that she wrote several years prior. She belted out the heartfelt lyrics while strumming an acoustic guitar, leaving the judges captivated.

Carrie Underwood made a bold comparison involving Taylor Swift on American Idol—and the name drop might have been what snagged contestant Zaylie Windsor a golden ticket. On the March 30 episode of the ABC singing competition series,