Published by Cel Manero from Global One Media Inc.
Season 23 of American Idol is set to air in Spring 2025.
Luke Bryan has some valuable advice for Carrie Underwood.
On Wednesday, Nov. 20, the Kick the Dust Up singer shared the guidance he gave Underwood ahead of her first season as a judge on American Idol.
“The thing about it is Carrie has to kind of learn in real time,” Bryan, 48, told E! News on the CMA Awards red carpet. “You kind of have to learn how to be a judge. It’s not like you can go to American Idol judging school.”
So far, Bryan said, Underwood, 41, is “awesome with the kids” and “has the best soul and heart.”
“She’s doing a great job and really settling into the judging table,” he added.
As Carrie Underwood settles into her role as a judge, Luke Bryan pointed out that there’s one area where she’s still adjusting.
“When she has to say ‘No,’ she’s like, ‘I don’t wanna tell them no,’” Bryan said of Underwood. “But it’s kind of a part [of the job]. It’s hard when you’ve got a kid that’s young and they haven’t found who they are musically.”
Earlier in August, during an interview with Seattle radio host Gabe Mercer, Bryan offered another humorous piece of advice for Underwood, who will join Bryan and Lionel Richie on the American Idol judges’ panel.
“Up her therapist,” Bryan joked in a TikTok posted by Mercer. “If she has a therapist, she’s probably going to have to double to deal with me and Lionel.”
He continued with a laugh, “Maybe I should credit her. Do therapists do gift cards where I can call her therapist and gift her a voucher?”
The Before He Cheats singer, who won American Idol‘s fourth season in 2005, was announced as Katy Perry’s replacement on the reality singing competition on Good Morning America on August 1.
The announcement highlighted the full-circle moment for Underwood, featuring throwback footage of her Idol debut. The clip showed her traveling from her hometown of Checotah, Oklahoma to audition for the show nearly two decades ago.
“I remember being at home in our little house and seeing on TV that there were auditions in St. Louis,” she recalled in the clip. “My mom said, ‘If you want to go, I’ll drive you.’”
She reflected on her journey, saying, “I went from nobody knowing my name to tens of millions of people watching the show.”