Carrie Underwood Mourns Brett James After Fatal Plane Crash

Carrie Underwood is mourning the death of her frequent collaborator Brett James after he died in a plane crash at the age of 57.

“Some things are just unfathomable. The loss of Brett James to his family, friends and our music community is too great to put into words,” Underwood, 42, wrote via her Instagram on Friday, September 19. “Brett was the epitome of ‘cool.’ I see him in my mind riding up to my cabins to write on his motorcycle [and] his hair somehow perfectly coiffed despite being under a helmet for however long.”

James died on Thursday, September 18, after a fatal plane crash in North Carolina with three other passengers. He is survived by his wife and their four children.

James was a solo musician, who also frequently wrote songs for other artists. He cowrote Underwood’s “Jesus, Take the Wheel,” “Flat on the Floor” and “Cowboy Casanova.”

“I always loved hearing him sing ‘Cowboy Casanova’ because a sassy girl anthem should’ve sounded ridiculous coming from a macho dude like him, but somehow, he even made that cool,” Underwood added in her Friday tribute. “He was a good guy. I remember writing with him on a song that he basically wrote 75 percent of and had ready when he walked in the room. We filled in the blanks and added a little melody and I told him after that I didn’t feel right splitting the credit evenly when he did most of the work. He wouldn’t have it. He insisted that everything be equal.”

Related: Who Was Brett James? 5 Things to Know About the Late Country Singer

Brett James was an established country singer-songwriter ahead of his tragic death in a September 2025 plane crash. “I turned 50 last year, and I had one of those birthday epiphanies. I thought, ‘I’d been writing songs for other artists for a long time, and I wanted to re-evaluate things,’” James told Songwriter Universe in […]

She continued, “Brett loved the Lord. Which is the only comfort we can hold on to now. We even had the pleasure of singing together at church. My favorite songs to sing of ours are the ones that he or we wrote about Jesus because the thoughts and feelings behind them are so genuine and pure. I won’t ever sing one note of them again without thinking of him.”

The former American Idol champ further noted that James’ death left “a hole in all of us that [she feared] won’t ever go away.”

“It will forever be a reminder that this life is but a moment,” Underwood concluded. “We have to make the most of each day we’re given here on earth. Each day is a gift. I’m asking all of you to pray for his family, friends and all of us that were blessed enough to know Brett. Love you, man. I’ll see you again someday.”