Carrie Underwood Looks Nearly Unrecognizable Without Her Blonde Hair Extensions

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Carrie Underwood is living proof that blondes do have more fun. Since her breakthrough on "American Idol," the eight-time Grammy winner has been famous for her golden blond tresses as much as for her country hits and powerhouse vocals. In April 2025, our Static Media photo team took a shot at what Underwood looks like without her signature blond hair, so it came as a shock when she decided to go back to her roots (literally!) just a few months later. "Well, the last time I saw my natural hair color, I was probably about 12 years old," the singer captioned her hair transformation on Instagram. "But I thought it might be time to give it a second chance. Thanks, @hairbykatelin_ at @parlour3beauty for helping me get back to my roots! #NewOldMe #Bronde."

"I love it," Miranda Lambert gushed. Candace Cameron Bure also chimed in, dropping a quick, "So pretty!!!!!" Meanwhile, fans of Underwood were equally enthusiastic about her new 'do: "YASS!! I wish more women would embrace their more natural color! It looks great," wrote one. "OMG!! It's perfect," said another.

Underwood had been wanting to switch up her platinum locks for quite some time now, but never had the courage to actually do it. "The problem is, I don't want to shock people," she told Refinery29 in 2012 about embracing her natural hair color. "Like if I dyed my hair brown, I don't want people to think I'm turning dark and serious. I wish I had started changing my hair around in the beginning, then it wouldn't be such a big shock if I did something like that now." She also told Huffpost, "Maybe someday I'll do something a little more drastic." Well, that someday is now.

The last time Carrie Underwood made a hairstyle change this drastic was more than 10 years ago at the 2014 Billboard Music Awards. The country star shocked fans when she stepped out on the red carpet sporting a darker hue that leaned toward — gasp — brunette. Explaining the new look to People, Underwood said (via Taste of Country), "It's just a little bit darker. I don't think I'd want to or could even pull off being a brunette, but it's just nice sometimes to change it up a bit." She also noted the number of "super-blonde" women in music (e.g. Taylor Swift, Miranda Lambert, and the queen of country herself, Dolly Parton). "I've been super blonde forever... so I thought I'd darken it just a little bit."

Aside from being a natural bronde, the "Jesus Take the Wheel" singer also has a naturally wavy hair pattern that she normally wears straight using a flat iron. "When I was in college I would put a lot of product in my hair and force it to be curly. And I definitely did that my first 'Idol' audition! I call it my 'crunchy' hair," Underwood told Huffpost in 2015. She later admitted it wasn't her best look: "That I might like to undo if I could."

As for how she takes care of her tresses, the mother of two kids swears by a dry shampoo to keep her roots fresh and oil-free between hair washes. For styling, she recommends the Oribe Dry Texturizing Spray for giving her hair some extra oomph. "I am from the South — we like big hair!" Underwood gushed in a 2013 interview with Redbook.