Carrie Underwood, Luke Bryan, And Lionel Richie Judge A New Season Of American Idol
The Season 24 premiere of American Idol aired on ABC on Sunday, January 26. The two-hour episode featured a parade of talented performers who earned Golden Tickets to Hollywood Week.
Season 23’s judges, Carrie Underwood, Luke Bryan, and Lionel Richie, all returned for Season 24. Bryan and Richie have been judges since Season 16 in 2018. Underwood (who won Idol‘s fourth season) joined the lineup last year for Season 23.
Longtime host Ryan Seacrest also returned for Season 24. He’s been with the show since its first season in 2002 (when Kelly Clarkson won).
Seacrest recently spoke with PEOPLE about the things he’s noticed after hosting Idol for 24 years. He told the publication that many of the contestants auditioning today have spent their entire lives dreaming about appearing on the show.
In more recent years, Seacrest has heard contestants say:
“‘I never thought I would be the person that would try out for this show, but I saw an artist, or a contestant like me that was not in this quintessential cookie-cutter kind of way. And I thought, wow, it could be me’ and they do it. So I think that’s the evolution of this.“
The Ratings Are In For The Season 24 Premiere Of American Idol
Now, the ratings are in for the Season 24 premiere of American Idol, and they’re quite impressive!
Deadline reports that the season’s debut episode drew in 5.9 million total viewers. The premiere earned a 0.54 rating point among adults between the ages of 18-49.
For comparison, Season 23’s premiere attracted 4.49 million viewers. Season 24’s premiere had nearly 1.5 million additional viewers!
According to Deadline, Season 24’s premiere was Idol‘s most successful and most-watched season premiere in four years, since Season 20 in 2022.
Several elements likely contributed to Idol‘s increased viewership this year. For starters, Season 23 was wildly popular. A record-breaking 26 million votes were cast in the finale, which ended with Jamal Roberts being crowned the season’s champion.
Following such a monumental season, people surely wanted to check out Season 24’s premiere to see who the next “Jamal Roberts” could be.
Plus, Season 24 was promoted often and early. The season was greenlit in May 2025, and the judges were confirmed in August 2025. This gave fans tons of time to get excited for the season premiere.
Additionally, Idol moved to a new night this year. The program used to air on Sundays. But it’s since moved to Monday evenings, and that move seems to have paid off.
Finally, Idol fans are curious about the big changes coming to the show this season. Some of those changes include moving Hollywood Week to Nashville, introducing a new voting method, and adding a new round to the Hawaii-based phase of the competition.
All of these elements surely helped draw 5.9 million viewers to the Season 24 premiere. Were you one of them?
Revisit one of the best auditions from the season’s debut episode below.
