Kelly Clarkson plans to bring Carrie Underwood His return as a judge was a “brilliant” decision American Idol producers.
“What better person to have, someone who won that show and is coming back?” said Clarkson, 42. And! News on Thursday, September 12. “To have gone through all that and then to have had such a great career like hers, that is priceless.”
Clarkson thinks that guy Idol Champion Underwood, 41, will “be honest” with the contestants because she has been in their shoes.
“Having someone to look at and say, ‘Okay, they’ve done it and they’re sitting right there. That means I’m capable of doing it. I can dream big,’” Clarkson continued, adding that Underwood was an “amazing choice” for the show.
“I think he'll do great,” the talk show host concluded.
American Idol is a staple in both the reality TV world and the music industry, but that hasn't stopped its judging panel from becoming a revolving door of talent. When the series debuted on Fox in 2002, music manager Randy Jackson, choreographer Paula Abdul and music executive Simon Cowell made up the judging panel. […]
Underwood was announced as Katy Perry's replacement on August 1. ABC confirmed the news with a throwback video, which shows the “Before He Cheats” singer's journey on American Idol.
“I went from nobody knowing my name to tens of millions of people watching the show,” Underwood said in her introductory video. “I’m proud of everything I was able to accomplish on the show and I’m so proud of everything I’ve accomplished since then.”
Underwood has since explained what she thinks her style will be like as a judge on the show.
“I think I can be honest and constructive, but also kind,” she said in an interview late last month. “And I think that’s the point, because people come and they’re dreams. From that moment on, you’re part of someone’s story.”
Underwood was the fourth winner of American Idolacquiring the coveted title in 2005. Clarkson arrived three years before the country superstar as the show's first winner in 2002.
Since winning American Idol, Carrie Underwood’s life has been much more than “Just a Dream.” The Oklahoma native rose to fame in 2005 after becoming the champion of the television singing competition’s fourth season. Following the success of her debut single, “Inside Your Heaven,” which made her the first country music artist to reach $100 million, the Oklahoma singer won the television singing competition. […]
While Clarkson has not sat in the American Idol judging table, she has appeared on the panel of another singing contest. The “Miss Independiente” singer was a judge in The voice from 2018 to 2021 and again in 2023.
Speaking about Underwood's new role as American Idol Judge Clarkson recalled her own time in The voice.
Clarkson said that as a judge, she was able to “look at these artists and say, ‘No, no, no, this is not all talk. I’ve literally been you, and this can happen and it’s a lot of hard work.’”
She imagines Underwood will do the same.
American Idol Season 23 is set to premiere in 2025.