Carrie Underwood returns to 'American Idol' in the TikTok era. Can it still thrive?

Last July, Luke Bryan and Carrie Underwood ran into each different backstage astatine Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena — a acquainted haunt for 2 seasoned state stars with much than 50 No. 1 hits betwixt them. The singers were determination to instrumentality portion successful a performance tribute to the precocious Toby Keith, who died successful February 2024. But betwixt reminiscences, Bryan and Underwood shared a fewer hush-hush words astir the future.

“Luke was like, ‘I perceive you’re going to the circus,’” Underwood recalled precocious with a laugh.

The circus was “American Idol,” the televised singing contention that launched Underwood’s vocation erstwhile she won successful 2005 astatine 22. And indeed, quality broke wrong a fewer days of the Keith tribute that she’d agreed to instrumentality to the show, this clip arsenic a personage justice alongside Bryan and Lionel Richie. Now, astir 20 years aft big Ryan Seacrest crowned a sobbing Underwood earlier a TV assemblage of astir 30 cardinal viewers, “Idol’s” 23rd play volition premiere Sunday nighttime connected ABC.

“Carrie being present has felt truthful right,” said Bryan, who joined “Idol’s” judging sheet successful 2018 with Richie and Katy Perry. “It’s full-circle for her, and for america it’s been amusive to perceive her speech astir —”

Underwood interrupted her formed mate successful an exaggerated old-person voice: “Back erstwhile I was connected the show…”

In galore ways, “American Idol” — the No. 1 programme connected broadcast tv for overmuch of its archetypal decennary — hasn’t changed since it debuted successful 2002 arsenic a stateside hold of the U.K.’s “Pop Idol.” Amateur singers inactive scope for lung-busting precocious notes; judges inactive dispense proposal drawn from their nonrecreational experience; Seacrest inactive emcees the proceedings with a knowing amusement.

Yet the satellite astir “Idol” has transformed dramatically. For 1 thing, the amusement has acquired much contention successful the signifier of “The Voice” and “America’s Got Talent” adjacent arsenic the emergence of streaming has chopped into the assemblage for broadcast TV. (Last year’s finale drew lone astir 5 cardinal viewers.) The euphony manufacture is antithetic excessively — controlled acold little from the apical down than it was a decennary oregon 2 agone acknowledgment to societal media, which nowadays is wherever stars are calved and deed records are made. (“Inside Your Heaven,” Underwood’s debut azygous aft winning “Idol,” sailed to No. 1 connected Billboard’s Hot 100, whereas Abi Carter, Season 22’s victor, has yet to ace the chart.)

The squad down “American Idol” frames the show’s steadfastness arsenic a selling constituent successful an epoch of integer overload and taste upheaval. “It’s a harmless spot to spell wherever you cognize what to expect,” said Seacrest, who likened the amusement to the venerable “Wheel of Fortune,” which has seen a ratings bump since helium took implicit past autumn arsenic big from Pat Sajak. And with Underwood replacing Perry, who near aft Season 22, “Idol” seems anxious to evoke memories of the glory days.

“I was conscionable watching a portion of Carrie this greeting astatine the Orpheum Theatre, erstwhile she was flown connected a level for the archetypal clip to travel retired to Hollywood Week” arsenic a contestant during Season 4, Seacrest said. “I asked her if she’d seen immoderate stars since she got here, and she looked up astatine the entity and said, ‘No, it’s been beauteous cloudy.’”

Carrie Underwood with Ryan Seacrest arsenic helium names her the victor of “American Idol” successful 2005.

(Kevork Djansezian / Associated Press)

Underwood, present 41, was backmost astatine the Orpheum connected a Monday greeting successful January for this year’s Hollywood Week, erstwhile hopefuls who earned a aureate summons during the show’s lengthy auditions vie for the accidental to execute unrecorded for “Idol’s” voting audience. As young singers could beryllium heard warming their voices upstairs, Underwood sat connected a sofa successful a basement lounge chatting with Bryan, 48, and Richie, 75, astir what they did implicit the play — Bryan played play astatine the Bel-Air Country Club — and astir the erstwhile evening’s AFC Championship shot game. An adjunct came by and offered to fetch antithetic bottles of h2o than the ones sitting successful beforehand of the judges.

“Don’t spell penning that she’s persnickety astir her water,” Underwood joked.

To perceive the state prima archer it, deciding to bash “Idol” again — to “join this brainsick bunch,” arsenic she enactment it — didn’t necessitate loads of deliberation. “I consciousness similar I’m astatine a constituent successful my vocation wherever I conscionable privation to bash things I privation to bash — things that dependable similar fun, dependable similar a challenge,” said Underwood, whose fashionable residency astatine Las Vegas’ Resorts World casino is acceptable to reason adjacent period aft much than 3 years. “This felt breathtaking to me.”

“Idol” showrunner Megan Michaels Wolflick noted that the amusement has ne'er had a erstwhile rival instrumentality arsenic a judge, though well-known “Idol” alums similar Kelly Clarkson and Jennifer Hudson person enactment successful clip assessing singers connected “The Voice.” (Among the stars who’ve served arsenic judges connected “Idol” are Jennifer Lopez, Mariah Carey, Steven Tyler and Nicki Minaj.) “And Carrie’s our queen arsenic acold arsenic being the biggest-selling ‘Idol’ victor successful history,” Wolflick added. “So it made truthful overmuch consciousness for her to travel on.”

Finding the close code down the judges’ array — steadfast yet supportive, benignant yet realistic — has been a process for this denizen of nice-and-smiley Nashville. “I’m from the procreation of brutal honesty: ‘You suck,’” Richie said. Underwood, connected the different hand, “never wants to nonstop anybody home,” according to Bryan. “She wants 150 winners of ‘American Idol.’”

“I conscionable don’t privation to bash the incorrect thing,” Underwood said. “Twenty years ago, the judges were having each these back-room conversations astir me, looking astatine my small photo, reasoning of which committee to enactment maine on. Luke and Lionel are like, ‘Just spell with your gut,’ and I’m like, ‘Wait, fto maine cheque my notes!’”

Underwood is accustomed to being talked about: She angered immoderate successful January erstwhile she accepted an invitation to sing “America the Beautiful” astatine President Trump’s 2nd inauguration — a determination she made, she said astatine the time, successful “the tone of unity.” At the Orpheum a mates of weeks later, Underwood shrugged disconnected the criticism. “No substance what you do, everybody’s gonna person immoderate bully worldly to accidental and immoderate not-so-good worldly to say,” she said. “It’s conscionable the satellite we unrecorded in, truthful you get utilized to it.”

“I consciousness similar I’m astatine a constituent successful my vocation wherever I conscionable privation to bash things I privation to do,” says Carrie Underwood astir joining “Idol” arsenic a judge.

(Marcus Ubungen / Los Angeles Times)

Both Seacrest and Wolflick picture “Idol” arsenic an intentionally apolitical enterprise. “It’s perfectly a strategy of the amusement to not beryllium governmental ever,” Seacrest said, drafting a opposition betwixt “Idol” and the web late-night shows. “They prime a side, right? That’s their target, and they determine to spell 1 absorption oregon the different to support loyal fans. We privation everybody.”

Did Underwood’s quality with a polarizing president tally antagonistic to that position? “That was her determination to marque successful her career,” Wolflick said. “It wasn’t needfully astir us.”

Then again, it’s not astatine each wide that Underwood’s beingness astatine the inauguration did thing to harm “Idol,” which boasts a beardown pursuing successful red-state America. “There are a batch of tiny towns and medium-sized cities betwixt New York and Los Angeles wherever this amusement is inactive thing that radical person an assignment to watch,” Seacrest said.

Underwood said “Idol” satisfies an appetite for “wholesome household entertainment,” portion Bryan suggested that the amusement is really a solemnisation of American diverseness — though helium didn’t usage that word. “We each interest astir the part successful the country, due to the fact that we’re perpetually told that we’re divided,” helium said. “But past we spot a 100 kids who didn’t cognize each different earlier Hollywood Week — you got 1 kid wearing Wranglers and a cowboy chapeau and sitting adjacent to him is simply a kid from the Bronx — and they’re hugging and loving connected each other.”

One happening that unites contestants these days, everyone progressive with “Idol” agrees, is that societal media has bred an instinctive self-awareness successful beforehand of the camera. “They cognize precisely however to basal and wherever to look — the moves, the motions, the play — due to the fact that they’ve been shooting themselves successful their rooms,” Seacrest said. (Another unifier: the rough-edged state vocalist Zach Bryan, whose opus “Something successful the Orange” Wolflick reckons she’s heard performed much often — by singers of each genre — than immoderate different opus of the past 10 years. “He’s fundamentally Elvis for our auditioners,” the showrunner said.)

“My interest is: Have you had immoderate acquisition successful the concern but TikTok?” Richie asked. “Can you clasp a fantastic viral infinitesimal and crook that into a career?” Added Luke Bryan: “It’s 1 happening to prop your telephone up and sing into it, but you’ve got a agelong mode to spell to travel navigate ‘Idol.’ And conscionable due to the fact that you triumph ‘Idol’ — I mean, it wasn’t a snap-your-finger for Carrie. She had to spell retired and physique it.”

“Oh yes — ohhh yes,” Underwood replied. “I had an assemblage earlier I had an album. But if I’d made a unspeakable album, you ne'er would person heard different one.”

Still, determination was an “Idol”-industrial pipeline successful spot during the show’s blockbuster aboriginal years that gave winners the benignant of mainstream vulnerability that’s infinitely harder to execute successful our much fractured media landscape. You’d astir apt person to spell backmost to Season 11, erstwhile Phillip Phillips won, to find a victor who scored a real-deal popular deed (in his lawsuit the folky “Home”) aft their stint connected the show.

“I find it truthful frustrating sometimes to fto immoderate of this endowment go, and I don’t cognize if we’re going to perceive them again, fixed the mode the manufacture is acceptable up now,” Richie said.

Luke Bryan, left, and Lionel Richie joined “Idol’s” judging sheet successful 2018.

(Marcus Ubungen / Los Angeles Times)

Wolflick, who points retired that Benson Boone appeared concisely connected “Idol” successful 2021 earlier breaking retired past twelvemonth with the smash “Beautiful Things,” likewise believes successful the show’s talent. “We’re similar the NFL oregon the NBA of singing competitions,” she said. “Even the connection ‘reality show’ bothers maine due to the fact that we’re serious. ‘The Voice’ is astir similar a crippled show. We’re inactive looking for superstars.”

Yet, she acknowledged that “Idol’s” level has changed: Nobody would picture Iam Tongi, who won the contention successful 2023, arsenic a household name, though helium did turn his societal pursuing from thing similar 500 followers to much than a cardinal acknowledgment to his clip connected “Idol.”

“I see that a triumph due to the fact that radical are talking astir him,” Wolflick said.

Even the show’s personage judges are taxable to the shifting tides of modern popular stardom. Asked whether Perry’s flop 2024 medium “143” served arsenic a benignant of entity acquisition — a cautionary tale, perhaps, regarding the challenges successful moving betwixt TV and euphony — Underwood said, “I don’t truly deliberation astir it.” Surely she doesn’t privation to halt making hits? “Whatever’s adjacent is whatever’s next,” she said.

“I privation I could get her outlook,” Bryan chimed in. “When I got approached astir ‘American Idol,’ I was astatine the highest level of my euphony career. You privation to support immoderate enigma astir yourself connected the euphony side, and erstwhile you’re connected TV each day, that astir apt goes away. I had immoderate anxieties astir that.”

Does helium deliberation the determination to bash the amusement altered the people of his vocation arsenic a state act? “I mean, I’m inactive having hits, and my tours are precisely wherever they request to be,” helium said. “I don’t spell bash 20 stadiums similar I utilized to, but I’m not definite that would person continued either way.”

“There was a constituent erstwhile it wasn’t hep to big an awards show, past each of a abrupt I did it,” Richie said, referring to his mid-’80s gig connected the American Music Awards. “Then everybody said, ‘I privation to big a amusement too.’” He laughed. “The constituent present is that what didn’t enactment earlier works now. I tin accidental honestly that I’m being attacked by 9- to 12-year-olds successful restaurants: ‘Mom, Dad, there’s Lionel!’ My grandkids archer me, ‘Uh-oh, Pop-pop, they’re coming to get you.’”