Carrie Underwood is returning to “American Idol.” ABC will announce on Thursday that Underwood will be a judge next season, replacing Katy Perry, who left earlier this year. Underwood has been on “American Idol” before as a mentor and performed in the season finale in 2022.
She’s also familiar to ABC viewers, having hosted the CMA Awards on the network from 2008 to 2019.
Underwood became famous in 2005 when she won Season 4 of “American Idol” on Fox. She will join Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan as the newest judge when the show returns next year for Season 23.
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Perry announced last winter that she would leave her role as a judge on “Idol.” She has been on the show for seven seasons since it moved to ABC in 2018.
“I love ‘Idol’ so much. It has connected me with the heart of America,” she said on “Jimmy Kimmel Live.” “But I feel like I must go out and find my own path.”
“American Idol” will start its eighth season on ABC, renewed last spring. Ryan Seacrest will keep hosting the show from Fremantle and Sony Pictures TV’s 19 Entertainment. Megan Michaels Wolflick is the showrunner and executive producer, along with Fremantle’s Jennifer Mullin, and Eli Holzman and Aaron Saidman for 19 Entertainment.
Source: Variety