Katy Perry Reveals True Feelings About Carrie Underwood Replacing Her on ‘American Idol’
Katy Perry is finally opening up about Carrie Underwood taking her spot on the 'American Idol' judging panel.
American Idol’s 16-season run on Fox came to a close in 2016. Fortunately for long-time fans, however, that wasn’t the end. ABC revived the show in 2018 with Luke Bryan, Katy Perry, and Lionel Richie as judges. The trio remained inseparable until Perry’ departed the show in May 2024 after seven seasons. Three months later, the show announced that season 4 champion Carrie Underwood would replace the “Firework” star. With the season 23 premiere little more than a month away, we now know how Perry really feels about this decision.
Quite frankly, we may have never learned Carrie Underwood’s name without American Idol. The “Before He Cheats” singer was just 21 years old when she traveled to St. Louis from her tiny hometown of Checotah, Oklahoma, to try her luck on the show. And not only did she punch her ticket to Hollywood, she dominated the entire season, with viewers crowning Underwood the winner on May 25, 2005.
The eight-time GRAMMY Award winner brings her career full circle 20 years later as she takes over Katy Perry’s seat on the judging panel. And the “Hot N’ Cold” singer thinks her former post is in good hands.
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“She was born on that show. I think she knows how to steer it,” Perry, 40, recently told People.
As artists, Perry, Bryan and Richie can only empathize so much with the Idol hopefuls’ experience, the “Dark Horse” singer said. Meanwhile, Underwood has stood exactly where they are standing.
“[She] has lived every single day,” Perry said. “So I think she’s going to have a lot to offer anyone that’s willing to listen.”
[RELATED: Spoiler: Carrie Underwood Rewards Standout Contestant From New Season of ‘American Idol’ With a Platinum Ticket]
When Katy Perry announced her impending exit from American Idol during a February 2024 appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live, she hinted that new music had something to do with that decision. The “Roar” star made good on that promise when she dropped her seventh studio album, 143, that September.
Soon, Perry will hit the road for her first North American tour in seven years. The best-selling singer-songwriter announced her Lifetimes Tour on Jan. 27.
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The Lifetimes Tour will kick off May 7 at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas. In June, she will take the tour overseas to Australia before returning to the States for a second round of U.S. shows, Perry will wrap up the tour’s U.S. leg with a July 21 show in Seattle, Washington.
Catch Carrie Underwood’s judging debut during the season 23 premiere of American Idol on Sunday, March 9, at 8 p.m. Eastern on ABC.
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