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Carrie Underwood shared new photos of the newborn in her family just a few weeks after his birth.
Underwood surprised her Instagram followers last month when she shared the first photos of a baby lamb, born on the same day the American Idol finale aired. Underwood served as a judge for the first time this season, marking 20 years since her career-launching victory on the show’s fourth season in 2005. Her emotional return to the show reunited her with longtime host Ryan Seacrest, plus returning judges Luke Bryan and Lionel Richie and first-ever artist in residence Jelly Roll. Underwood named the baby lamb after this season’s American Idol winner, Jamal Roberts, in honor of his birthday on the day of the finale. The Grammy-winning country star shared new photos of “Baby J” on her Instagram story on Thursday morning (June 5).
“Surprise! We’ve got another new life around the farm!” Underwood exclaimed in her caption on Instagram on May 21. “This little guy happened to be born on the day of the [American Idol] finale, so we figured it would only be right if we named him Jamal!!! ☺️ Mama and Baby J are doing well…and I’m popping by the barn to get snuggles every chance I get! Welcome to the world, little dude!”
Underwood previously shared glimpses of her farm animals, and noted in an episode of Idol To Icon that farm life has always been important to her. The online series featured Underwood reminiscing on some of her most memorable moments on American Idol 20 years later. She spoke about growing up on a farm in Oklahoma in one of the earliest episodes, reliving her audition for then-judges Randy Jackson, Paula Abdul and Simon Cowell.
“I make the joke now that it’s like, I grew up on a farm in a really small town [Checotah, Oklahoma], go try out for American Idol, go all over the world, go on tours, make albums, do all this stuff, just so I could buy a farm,” she said with a laugh, “and go back to the farm and live on a farm in a small, little town [outside Nashville, Tennessee]. That’s roots. We all have them. You can’t get away from them, and sometimes you kind of have to go out and see all the other stuff before you realize, ‘man, I had it pretty good and I kinda want that back.’ I love my life so much now. I feel like I kinda get the best of both worlds. I get my days on the farm at home, I get my chickens and my sheep. There’s still a lot to do. It’s a lot of work. It’s very fulfilling.”
Underwood also reminisced on the 2005 finale in an Idol To icon episode. She tearfully spoke about her winning moment and her “unbelievable” Idol journey. She said “it has been an incredible 20 years. It’s the ultimate Cinderella story, and I love that. We all love that. We love to see people evolve in front of our eyes. …This show made the impossible possible.”