Carrie Underwood Gives Surprise Performance With Rock Icon On “Idol”
on Apr 14, 2026
American Idol Kicked Off Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame Night With A Surprise Performance
Monday night’s (April 13) episode of American Idol, which stars judges Carrie Underwood, Luke Bryan, and Lionel Richie, was dubbed Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame night.
The show announced earlier in the day that the evening would include a performance from Rock Hall of Famers Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo and the announcement of the 2026 class of Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees.
RELATED: 2026 Rock Hall of Fame Inductees Revealed During ‘American Idol’
“Plus, in the first minute, a surprise performance ignites the stage,” host Ryan Seacrest teased in the promo video.
Just a few minutes before the show went live, judge Carrie Underwood also teased a surprise on social media. She posted a photo of a red “IDOL” patch sewn on to a black leather jacket.
“Tonight is full or surprises,” she wrote.
As most fans know, Carrie is a huge rock music fan and has been part of the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame induction ceremony on two different occasions: in 2014 to honor Linda Ronstadt and in 2023 to pay tribute to George Michael.
RELATED: Carrie Underwood Brings Out Axl Rose For Epic “Welcome To The Jungle” Duet
It turns out, the surprise performance did include Carrie Underwood, but it also included the legendary Billy Idol, meaning that her “Idol” patch had two meanings!
Carrie And Billy Performed Idol’s 1984 hit “Rebel Yell”
The opening shot of Monday night’s episode began on the “Idol” patch, which turned out to be on a jacket worn by Underwood.
She walked out on stage and the camera showed the icon who is guitarist Steve Stevens.
Seeing as she was singing a Billy Idol song and performing with Billy Idol’s guitar player, all signs were pointing to the rock icon to be coming out on stage!
After singing the opening verse, Underwood said to the crowd, “Everybody make some noise for the original Idol, Billy Idol!”
The 70-year-old rocker ran on stage to take over the chorus and the crowd went WILD.
After the second verse, they gave Stevens time to shine with an epic guitar solo.
Stevens is also known for her lead guitar work on the theme song to Top Gun, for which he won a Grammy for Best Pop Instrumental Performance in 1987. He has also played with Michael Jackson, Ric Ocasek, Robert Palmer, Vince Neil, and many more.
The epic collaboration received a well-deserved standing ovations from everyone in the studio audience.
Following the performance, Seacrest announced some “Breaking News” to the audience: Billy Idol and Steve Stevens will be in the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame Class of 2026 inductees!
American Idol revealed their performance on social media with the caption, “Surprise! Carrie Underwood and Billy Idol kick off Rock & Roll Hall of Fame night with ‘Rebel Yell’ and we want more, more, MORE!”
Carrie Underwood herself couldn’t believe she was performing with such an icon.
“What is my life?!?! I got the incredible chance tonight to sing with THE @billyidol and @stevestevens as part of our @rockhall night on @americanidol . It was an honor for me to get to share the stage with some real legends! Billy was so kind and put up with my nervousness and fangirling…I still can’t believe THAT just happened!” she wrote on social media.
Watch Carrie Underwood and Billy Idol’s epic surprise performance below!
