Carrie Underwood, country singer and “American Idol” winner, returned to her roots last night, performing her hit single, “Jesus Take the Wheel,” on the show that launched her career.

Although I’m not a big fan of “Idol,” Carrie Underwood, or country music, her song–which spent six weeks at No. 1 on the Country Singles chart, was better than I expected—although I must admit, I did cringe at one of the opening lines: “She was running low on faith and gasoline.” The verse reminded me of one of those stereotypical, cheesy country songs: “My wife left me, the dog’s dead, I’ve lost my job, and the mortgage is due…”

After I got over my initial dislike, I tried to focus on both the performance (which you can watch here) and the rest of the song’s lyrics. Overall, Underwood was very good. She has a beautiful voice and presence and easily outshined most of this season’s contestants. The lyrics, aren’t all that bad either. I particularly liked the verse:

She bowed her head to pray
She said I’m sorry for the way
I’ve been living my life
I know I’ve got to chance
So from now on tonight
Jesus take the wheel…

I anticipate this young star has a long career ahead of her. Which gives me the perfect excuse to dish on another Christian “American Idol” star, Clay Aiken. Aiken has long disputed rumors that he’s gay, and now, according to the New York Post, the National Enquirer has published webcam pictures of the singer exposing his bod to an “online boytoy” in a bid to solicit sex. This, of course, has gotten his fans–“Claymates,” as they’re called–in a tizzy. Some are even considering a class action-lawsuit against the singer and his record companies, RCA and Song BMG, claiming he was promoted as a “virgin” and “asexual.”