Carrie Underwood Becomes A Judge On American Idol 20 Years After Her Win
Over twenty years ago, Carrie Underwood won American Idol and launched her massive global career. Now, she finds herself on the other side of the competition, serving as a judge and helping young hopefuls achieve their dreams.
Carrie quickly became a beloved part of the season, and her unique perspective having been through it herself seemed to really resonate with the contestants.
During one of the episodes, Carrie even “tried out” again for the show. For her original audition, she sang Bonnie Raitt’s “I Can’t Make You Love Me” and earned a ticket to Hollywood Week. Her performances in the weeks of competition that followed led then-judge Simon Cowell to predict that she would not only win the show but would “sell more records than any previous Idol winner.”
When a contestant chose to sing that same song during her time judging, Carrie relived her first appearance and serenaded the room with her updated rendition.
Shortly before her judging premiere, Carrie posted a picture to social media way back from her first audition.
“HERE WE ARE…Back in the big city looking for the BEST and brightest talent!!!!…Season 23 starts in Spring ’25!“ the caption read.
She has continued on to become one of the show’s most successful winners, earning eight Grammy Awards and selling over 85 million records to date.
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Carrie Shares Her Thoughts Heading Into Her Second Season of Judging
In a recent interview with Kelly Sutton of Y’all Access Radio, Carrie shared that she feels more confident returning to the judges’ table this season, saying she is “more sure of herself” going into her second year.
“I feel like last year, you wonder if you’ll have anything to say. You wonder what kind of a judge you’ll be because you really don’t know until you get in there. But I feel good, and I feel good about the talent, for sure,” Carrie said.
When discussing the show moving its traditional Hollywood week from California to Nashville, Tennessee, Carrie admitted she was excited to be closer to home.
“I live an hour away,” she explained. “So we have so much talent to go through that if we’re wrapping at 10:00, 10:30 at night, if I’m going to get home at like 11:30, and then I’m going to be back in the makeup chair at 7:00… I’ve been doing a little bit of that. I’ve been trying to bounce back and forth.”
Carrie said that she had to explain to her two young boys, Isaiah and Jacob, that she was going to be busy for a little while.
“I’m like, ‘It’s going to be kind of a crazy couple of weeks. Just hold on. Mom will be back. I love you.’”
Season 24 of American Idol airs Monday, January 26 at 8/7c on ABC and will also be available to stream on Hulu.