Carrie Underwood is reeling from the loss of songwriter Brett James, who died in a small plane crash in North Carolina on September 18.

On Friday, the American Idol winner posted a moving tribute to James, who penned her 2005 hit “Jesus, Take the Wheel.” The pair also collaborated on many other songs, including “Cowboy Casanova” and “Something in the Water.” 

“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 wrote on Instagram. 

James, 57, was one of three people aboard a Cirrus SR22T that crashed around 3 p.m. on Thursday in a field near Franklin, North Carolina. The other passengers also included James’ wife Melody Clare and his stepdaughter Meryl Maxwell Wilson. The plane was registered to James, whose legal name was Brett James Cornelius. 

Carrie Underwood calls Brett James ‘the epitome of cool’

Underwood went on to share her memories of working with James, who was inaugurated into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2020.

“Brett was the epitome of ‘cool,’” she wrote. “I see him in my mind riding up to my cabins to write on his motorcycle…his hair somehow perfectly coiffed despite being under a helmet for however long. 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.”

James was a “good guy,” the Grammy-winner continued. She recalled that he once insisted on splitting the writing credit on a track evenly even though “he basically wrote 75%” of the song. 

“I didn’t feel right splitting the credit evenly when he did most of the work,” she wrote. However, James “wouldn’t have it. He insisted that everything be equal. He was just that kind of guy…”

Songwriter’s death leaves ‘a hole in all of us,’ Carrie Underwood says

James – who won his own Grammy for writing “Jesus, Take the Wheel” – was also a devout Christian, according to Underwood. 

“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,” she said. “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.”

James’ death “is leaving a hole in all of us that I fear won’t ever go away,” Underwood continued. She added that the loss “will forever be a reminder that this life is but a moment…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,” she concluded. “Love you, man. I’ll see you again someday.”

Other country stars pay tribute to Brett James 

Several other country stars also paid tribute to James. Jason Aldean described himself as “heartbroken” by the death of James, who wrote his hit “The Truth.”

“I had nothing but love and respect for that guy and he helped change my life,” he wrote on Instagram. “Honored to have met him and worked with him. Thoughts and prayers going out to his family.”

Dierks Bentley recalled working with James on a particularly meaningful track. 

“I brought a couple of roughy sketched verse ideas of I Hold On to Brett after my dad died and he just did his thing,” he wrote on Instagram. “The chorus is all him. When I sing that song live, I’m always thinking of my dad, but I also think about that day we wrote it. He just got it, just lit into it. It was one of the first times we wrote and I decided to drop the most meaningful and necessary idea of a song I had on him, because I felt like God was telling me to do so. Our friendship and that song changed my life.”

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