{"id":4224,"date":"2025-08-27T07:21:37","date_gmt":"2025-08-27T07:21:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/grow48.us\/?p=4224"},"modified":"2025-08-27T07:21:37","modified_gmt":"2025-08-27T07:21:37","slug":"carrie-underwood-and-luke-bryan-are-officially-set-to-return-to-american-idol-for-the-2026-season-and-fans-are-already-buzzing-with-excitement-the-two-idol-alums-turned-chart-topping-icons","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/grow48.us\/?p=4224","title":{"rendered":"Carrie Underwood and Luke Bryan are officially set to return to American Idol for the 2026 season \u2014 and fans are already buzzing with excitement. The two Idol alums turned chart-topping icons will reunite on the show that first made them household names, bringing their star power back to the stage in a season being teased as bigger than ever. And yes \u2014 there\u2019s already a video preview giving fans a first look at what\u2019s to come. Watch it below \ud83d\udc47"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Today, ABC announced that last year\u2019s judges Luke Bryan, Lionel Richie and Carrie Underwood have all signed new deals and will return to\u00a0<em>American Idol<\/em>\u00a0for its ninth season on the network (and 24th overall) this year. No word yet on if longtime host Ryan Seacrest will return, but it\u2019s likely that he will also resign his contract for the show.<\/p>\n<p>Both Luke and Lionel have been judges since\u00a0<em>Idol<\/em>\u00a0started on ABC, but Carrie joined last season and has provided an interesting perspective considering she has become one of the biggest stars the show has ever produced after winning it all back in 2005.<\/p>\n<div class=\"code-block code-block-4\"><\/div>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"flipboard-image wp-post-image\" src=\"https:\/\/www.whiskeyriff.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/carrieunderwoodamericanidol-1-770x518.jpg\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 770px) 100vw, 770px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.whiskeyriff.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/carrieunderwoodamericanidol-1-770x518.jpg 770w, https:\/\/www.whiskeyriff.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/carrieunderwoodamericanidol-1-1024x689.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.whiskeyriff.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/carrieunderwoodamericanidol-1-293x197.jpg 293w, https:\/\/www.whiskeyriff.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/carrieunderwoodamericanidol-1.jpg 1200w\" alt=\"Carrie Underwood Luke Bryan country music\" width=\"770\" height=\"518\" \/><\/p>\n<p>She replaced Katy Perry as a judge in 2024, and from what I saw last year during the airing of the show, most fans were excited to have her back in this type of capacity, and it certainly made for a full-circle moment. Carrie was just 22 years old when she won Idol, and while I wondered how it would work for them having two country artists as judges at the same time, a first for the show, they all seem to have a great dynamic and there were several viral moments last year.<\/p>\n<div class=\"code-block code-block-5\"><\/div>\n<p>They shared the announcement on Instagram earlier, featuring videos from all three judges telling fans that class was \u201cback in session\u201d:<\/p>\n<p><iframe id=\"instagram-embed-0\" class=\"instagram-media instagram-media-rendered\" src=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/reel\/DNyN5-T0qaW\/embed\/captioned\/?cr=1&amp;v=14&amp;wp=675&amp;rd=https%3A%2F%2Fnewsngay.com&amp;rp=%2Fminhnguyenlt%2Fcountry-superstars-carrie-underwood-and-luke-bryan-are-officially-set-to-return-to-american-idol-for-the-2026-season-and-fans-are-already-buzzing-with-excitement-the-two-idol-alums-turne#%7B%22ci%22%3A0%2C%22os%22%3A1754%2C%22ls%22%3A1179.2999999523163%2C%22le%22%3A1625.3999998569489%7D\" height=\"987\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" data-instgrm-payload-id=\"instagram-media-payload-0\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The show will start airing in 2026, but producers\u2019 auditions will begin on August 26th and will take place with a live virtual nationwide search across all 50 states if you\u2019re looking to audition for this upcoming season.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019ll be honest, I haven\u2019t been interested in a singing competition show like this since I watched the original\u00a0<em>American Idol\u00a0<\/em>years ago, but it\u2019s cool that there\u2019s so much country representation with the judges, and l still sometimes enjoy watching the auditions because you just never know who is going to walk through the doors and either embarrass\u00a0themselves or blow everyone away.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Idol Across America<\/em>\u00a0audition dates:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cFirst 900\u201d VIP Event (Aug. 26)<br \/>\nAlabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi (Aug. 27)<br \/>\nKansas, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas (Aug. 28)<br \/>\nGeorgia, North Carolina, South Carolina (Sept. 2)<br \/>\nNationwide open call (Sept. 3)<br \/>\nConnecticut, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania (Sept. 4)<br \/>\nIndiana, Kentucky, Maine, New Hampshire, Tennessee (Sept. 8)<br \/>\nAlaska, California, Hawaii, Nevada, Washington (Sept. 9)<br \/>\nFlorida, Michigan, Virginia, West Virginia (Sept. 11)<br \/>\nEast Coast open call (Sept. 12)<br \/>\nThe South open call (Sept. 15)<br \/>\nIllinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Wisconsin (Sept. 16)<br \/>\nWest and Midwest open call (Sept. 18)<br \/>\nDelaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, Ohio, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, D.C. (Sept. 19)<br \/>\nArizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Wyoming (Sept. 22)<br \/>\nNationwide open call (Sept. 24)<\/p>\n<h2>Carrie\u2019s Journey From\u00a0<em>American Idol<\/em>\u00a0To Country Superstardom<\/h2>\n<p>Since 2005, Carrie has become a country superstar, selling over 85 million records worldwide, scored 28 #1 singles, won eight Grammy\u2019s and seven CMA Awards.<\/p>\n<p>She\u2019s become easily one of the most successful artists to come from the competition show, and her insane vocal range and beautiful voice are second to none. For me, she\u2019s easily in the conversation for the best vocalist in mainstream country music over the last 20 years.<\/p>\n<p>She shared a nostalgic video package sharing the news, recalling how she ended up auditioning in the first place and how much she has accomplished in almost 20 years:<\/p>\n<p><em><strong>\u201cI remember being at home, in our little house in Checotah, and seeing on TV that there were auditions in St. Louis. My mom said, \u2018If you wanna go, I\u2019ll drive you.\u2019 I went from nobody knowing my name, to tens of millions of people watching the show.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><strong>I\u2019m proud of everything I was able to accomplish on the show, and I\u2019m so proud of everything\u00a0 I\u2019ve accomplished since.\u201d<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-twitter-extracted-i1756198593601748416=\"true\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"emoji\" role=\"img\" draggable=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/s.w.org\/images\/core\/emoji\/16.0.1\/svg\/1f31f.svg\" alt=\"\ud83c\udf1f\" \/>CARRIE<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"emoji\" role=\"img\" draggable=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/s.w.org\/images\/core\/emoji\/16.0.1\/svg\/1f31f.svg\" alt=\"\ud83c\udf1f\" \/>\u00a0From Idol hopeful, to global icon\u2026to IDOL judge! Home-grown superstar @carrieunderwood will join @AmericanIdol for Season 8! #CUonIdol<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"emoji\" role=\"img\" draggable=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/s.w.org\/images\/core\/emoji\/16.0.1\/svg\/2728.svg\" alt=\"\u2728\" \/>\u00a0pic.twitter.com\/ewTK7oBKrc<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Carrie Underwood (@carrieunderwood) August 1, 2024<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The small town girl from Oklahoma has obviously became a megastar even beyond country music, and she\u2019s gone on to have plenty of #1 singles on the radio, won just about every award there is, from Grammy\u2019s, to ACM\u2019s, CMA Awards, her\u00a0<em>Reflection<\/em>\u00a0residency in Las Vegas, in addition to owning her own clothing line and being a mom to two little boys.<\/p>\n<p><em>American Idol<\/em>\u00a0has yet to announce an official date, which was renewed by ABC earlier this spring, but it should be airing sometime early next year.<\/p>\n<p>While you\u2019re here, check out her audition video from almost 20 years ago when a baby-faced Carrie Underwood impressed judges with a beautiful rendition of the Bonnie Raitt classic \u201cI Can\u2019t Make You Love Me\u201d:<\/p>\n<div class=\"video-wrap\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Carrie Underwood-American Idol Audition\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/KOlrEFQ24SM?feature=oembed\" width=\"350\" height=\"235\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\" data-origwidth=\"350\" data-origheight=\"235\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Today, ABC announced that last year\u2019s judges Luke Bryan, Lionel Richie and Carrie Underwood have all signed new deals and will return to\u00a0American Idol\u00a0for its ninth season&#8230; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4225,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4224","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/grow48.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4224","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/grow48.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/grow48.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grow48.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grow48.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4224"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/grow48.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4224\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4226,"href":"https:\/\/grow48.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4224\/revisions\/4226"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grow48.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4225"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/grow48.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4224"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grow48.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4224"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grow48.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4224"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}