Carrie Underwood took the stage Thursday night (June 13) to honor her longtime friend and songwriter Hilary Lindsey with a performance of “Jesus, Take The Wheel.”

Carrie Underwood’s performance was part of the 2024 Songwriters Hall of Fame Induction and Awards Gala at New York Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City. One of this year’s inductees, Hilary Lindsey, has had numerous songs recorded by the American Idol winner, including “Smoke Break,” “Cry Pretty,” and “See You Again,” so it only made sense that Underwood would be on-hand to help induct Lindsey.

Carrie was joined on stage by Keith Urban to introduce Hilary Lindsey and praised her many accomplishments and her “immediately recognizable songwriting style.”

After introducing the inductee, Carrie Underwood performed “Jesus, Take The Wheel,” a song written by Lindsey along with Brett James and Gordie Sampson. The song was also Underwood’s first single from her debut album, Some Hearts.

Story Behind “Jesus, Take The Wheel”

In a 2020 interview with Bart Herbison of Nashville Songwriters Association International, songwriter Brett James recalled the day in 2005 when he sat down with Hilary Lindsey and Gordie Sampson for a songwriting session. Little did he know that that session would produce one of the biggest songs of their careers!

James shared how he and his co-writers were at Lindsey’s home and were throwing out title ideas when Sampson said, “I got this title called ‘When Jesus Takes The Wheel.’”

Initially, James and Lindsey were skeptical of the concept and moved on to more song ideas. The trio ultimately came back to the idea and began working on it. The end result was a song none of them were particularly excited about.

“We all wrote it and really either thought it was too out there or we didn’t think that much of it, to be honest,” James said.

A demo was recorded of the tune, and two months later, Carrie Underwood won season 4 of American Idol. She debuted “Jesus, Take The Wheel” at the CMA Awards, a moment Brett James said was “something special for all of us.”

The song would go on to become Carrie Underwood’s first Billboard No. 1 and earned the singer her first Grammy Awards in 2005: Best Country Song and Best Female Country Vocal Performance. At that year’s ACM Awards, it took home the Single of the Year trophy.

Watch Carrie Underwood’s debut performance of “Jesus, Take The Wheel” in 2005 below.