Carrie Underwood was nervous while performing on live television at the 2018 ACM Awards, but not for the reason many people thought.

Yes, it was her first television appearance since a now-explained November fall at her Nashville-area home, but on Sunday night, it was all about the music. She was debuting a new song from a highly-anticipated new album, which is always a little terrifying, she tells iHeartRadio's Bobby Bones Show.

It felt "like I've never been on stage before," she says.

After the performance of "Cry Pretty," the audience showered her with applause for more than 30 seconds. Viewers saw Underwood looking around, seemingly in amazement, but what she really was looking for was the wall to come down over her so she could be done. She didn't know what to do with herself when it didn't — she thought something was broken!

"I get super weirded out by clapping, and I know that sounds so weird," the 2018 WE Fest headliner admits. "When I’m performing I’m in the song, and as soon as the song’s over, it’s like I’m Carrie again and I just want to get off stage."

After the performance Underwood hugged her team, but was quickly whisked away to watch monitors in case she won in the Vocal Event of the Year category, which she did. Keith Urban spoke first, accepting their joint award for "The Fighter."

“I was glad Keith said words that made sense,” she tells the radio show, laughing.

One other topic she addressed on Wednesday (April 19) was that picture with Adrienne Gang that was taken in December, one month after her fall. It was the first time we'd seen her since it happened, and she says she had just finished a workout when Gang approached her, so she obliged in asking a friend to take the pic.

“I’m like, ‘Can we stand in the shadows?’” she recalls. Underwood was on vacation at the time it was snapped.

Underwood's Cry Pretty album is coming in September — expect it to be "emotional," "real" and "soulful." She shared with the Bobby Bones Show that she's not done recording and still might write more songs for it. She also hinted that she'd be touring in 2018.

Was "Cry Pretty" the Best of the ACMs? Watch!

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