The search for Katy Perry’s replacement on American Idol is over! Carrie Underwood is going to be returning to the show that kicked off her career and will be taking her seat at the judges’ table.
ABC announced on Thursday that the country songstress will be joining returning judges Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan — as well as returning host Ryan Seacrest — for the forthcoming season 23 of Idol.
“This upcoming season marks 20 years since Carrie won America’s hearts on Idol and launched her successful multi-GRAMMY Award-winning career,” Craig Erwich, president, Disney Television Group president Craig Erwich said in a statement released by ABC on Thursday. “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,” Erwich added.
Meanwhile, American Idol showrunner and producer Megan Wolflick said in a statement in the press release, “Carrie Underwood 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.”
“Our future hopefuls will have the chance to receive advice from someone who has walked in their exact footsteps every step of the way,” Wolflick shared. “Carrie has always been a strong supporter of Idol, and I’m thrilled for her to be reunited with our Idol Family.”
Underwood was crowned the champion of American Idol season 4 back in 2005 — the same year she released her debut solo album Some Hearts, which sold 7.5 million copies and became the best selling album of 2006. In the years since, she’s gone on to sell over 85 million records worldwide, with seven albums certified multi-platinum by the RIAA with 28 Billboard No. 1s under her belt.
Perry had been a judge on Idol since it was revived on ABC in 2018 for a 16th season. She announced she was leaving the show after seven seasons back in February while sitting down with Jimmy Kimmel.
In April, Perry spoke with ET on the carpet after a live episode of Idol, and dished on her reason for exiting the hit reality singing competition series.
“I’m just trying to make space for other things,” she explained.
“It’s not like me ending this show means I’m going to go retire on an island, even though that would be fabulous,” Perry added. “I’m gonna go to work.”
Perry — who shares 3-year-old daughter Daisy Dove with fiancé Orlando Bloom — has a lot going on in her life, a fact which her fellow judges told ET they appreciated and understood.
“She’s got a baby and she’s got a family, got new music, and it’s going to be amazing,” Richie told ET at the time. “I’m pulling for her. I told her, ‘If you need help on the road, Luke [Bryan] and I will be right there.'”
Perry’s sixth studio album, titled 143, will debut on Sept. 20 via Capitol Records. It will mark her first album since 2020’s Smile.
Its first single and video, “Woman’s World,” dropped on July 11.
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