Carrie Underwood is coming home! The country icon has officially been announced as American Idol's third judge for the show's upcoming 2025 season.

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ABC has confirmed Carrie will replace Katy Perry and join returning judges Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan on American Idol's Season 23 judging panel.

Ryan Seacrest will also return as American Idol's host for the new season.

While Carrie, who won American Idol's fourth season in 2005 when it previously aired on Fox, will be a first-time judge, Luke and Lionel have judged eight consecutive seasons of the reality singing competition.

American Idol originally debuted on Fox in June 2002 and aired annually on the network through 2016, when the series aired a fifteenth and final "farewell" season after Fox decided to cancel Idol -- which had completely dominated the television ratings for years at its peak -- due to declining ratings.

However ABC struck a deal with American Idol's production company to revive the series less than a year later, and the reality singing competition debuted on ABC with Season 16 in March 2018.

"This upcoming season marks 20 years since Carrie won America's hearts on Idol and launched her successful multi-Grammy Award-winning career," Disney Television Group President Craig Erwich said in a statement.

"As a former Idol and dynamic musical force, she brings a remarkably unique perspective to one of the most popular shows on television. This is a full-circle moment both for the show and audiences at home who have been tuning in for over two decades. Welcome home, Carrie."

Carrie is the first American Idol alum ever to join the judging panel.

"Her global superstar status as the most successful Idol winner to date makes her a perfect fit for the show. She embodies the true spirit of Idol as she herself is the definition of the Cinderella story," American Idol executive producer Megan Wolflick shared.

"Our future hopefuls will have the chance to receive advice from someone who has walked in their exact footsteps every step of the way. Carrie has always been a strong supporter of Idol, and I'm thrilled for her to be reunited with our Idol family."

American Idol auditions for Season 23, the series' eighth season on ABC, will kick off on Monday, August 12 with the return of "Idol Across America," the live virtual nationwide search for the next winner across all 50 states plus Washington, D.C.

The people auditioning will be given the opportunity to sing for an American Idol producer, from anywhere in America, in the hope of receiving a chance to perform in-person for American Idol's judges.

Idol hopefuls will also be allowed to audition during open call dates.

"Idol Across America" and open calls will run from August 12 through September 17, and information on how to sign up for an audition can be found on American Idol's official website.

Reports first surfaced on Wednesday, July 31 that ABC had selected Carrie to replace Katy on the judging panel next season.

Carrie is arguably the most successful winner American Idol has ever had. In addition to having served several times as a mentor on American Idol, she also performed on the show's season finale in 2022.

The country superstar, who had auditioned for Idol by singing "I Can't Make You Love Me" by Bonnie Raitt, has since released eight albums.

Carrie has won over 100 major awards including eight Grammy Awards. She has sold more than 85 million records worldwide and also recorded 28 No. 1 singles, 14 of which she co-wrote.

ABC was looking for a replacement Idol judge for months after Katy had announced earlier this year that Season 22 was going to be her last, at least until further notice.

Katy had served as a judge from American Idol's sixteenth season, alongside Luke and Lionel, through Season 22.

Pop star Meghan Trainor recently voiced how being an American Idol judge would be a "dream come true" for her.

"That would be great... I'll support her or whomever all the people over at ABC decide to go with," Luke recently told E! News when asked about the possibility of Meghan replacing Katy as a judge.

Luke went on to share, "The whole thing about that role is you've got to have personality and you've got to have fun with it every day... [Meghan] doesn't take herself too seriously. She has fun with her music."

Luke revealed, however, that he and Lionel were still "waiting to hear" whom the show was going to pick," adding, "It will be exciting to see who they decide to fill Katy's seat."

When asked which singers or artists he'd love to see that vacant spot on the judging panel, Luke replied, "I know that P!NK, her name was thrown around, and Miley Cyrus and obviously Meghan. So we'll see. [ABC] is being pretty good at being tight-lipped about it."

While Katy exited American Idol to focus on her music career, she dished about the possibility of returning to the show as a judge in late May.

"Keep that seat hot. I mean, who knows," Katy teased to Entertainment Tonight. "I loved everything I got to experience and learn."

Katy acknowledged that she'd like to see a "fearless" person join the show as a judge, someone who won't "mince their words."

Katy elaborated, "Maybe someone a little polarizing just like myself. There's a lot of people that's like, 'She's awful! She should go!' And there's a lot of people that are like, 'She speaks her mind! She's authentic!'"

"Whatever, you can't win 'em all," she continued. "I think it's actually better not to win 'em all because that means you actually have a point of view."

Abi Carter, 21, was crowned American Idol's Season 22 winner in late May.


About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski

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