Heavy/ABC The season 23 "American Idol" cast: Luke Bryan, Lionel Richie, Carrie Underwood and Ryan Seacrest.
Exactly two months after announcing that Carrie Underwood would replace Katy Perry as the new “American Idol” judge, the country superstar has begun filming season 23 with her new co-workers — Luke Bryan, Lionel Richie, and Ryan Seacrest.
Fans spotted the foursome filming auditions in New York City the week of September 30, 2024, and the stars have shared how things are going so far, with Underwood joking to “Extra” that she’s enjoying the “very pleasant working conditions” — except for the difficult task of having to say “no” to some contestants.
Carrie Underwood’s Been Thrown Off by Contestants Begging for a Golden Ticket
Underwood, 41, is the first “American Idol” judge to have competed on the show, winning season 4 in 2005. She was named the new judge after Perry decided to leave “Idol” after seven seasons to focus on releasing her upcoming album, “143,” and launch a world tour.
On October 2, at a photo shoot in New York with the cast, Richie told “Entertainment Tonight” that Underwood’s addition to the cast marks “a new era” for the show, while Underwood told the outlet, “It’s like I’m new and I’m old at the same time.”
“It’s been really great so far,” she continued. “I know we’re just getting started.”
“It’s part of me and it’s part of my history,” Underwood told “Extra” at the same photo shoot. “I can just bring that into my advice for the people that are standing in front of us.”
The toughest part so far, she told “Extra,” is when contestants beg to be given another chance when they’ve already been turned away.
She explained, “(It’s hard) whenever somebody is saying, ‘I can sing another one! I have this song, and this song!’ I did one yesterday and I was like, ‘Okay!’ But then that’s, like, that’s even worse because now it’s like, ‘Eh, still a no.’ Like, ugh!”
During an October 2 appearance on “The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon,” Bryan confirmed Underwood was “doing great” but struggling with that aspect of the auditions, telling Fallon that she was heartbroken when contestants would beg for a ticket to Hollywood.
He explained, “Yesterday we had a kid (who was) like, ‘I will work so hard’ and Carrie was like, ‘I didn’t realize they would do this!'”
‘Idol’ Judges Have to ‘Get Used To’ Working With Each Other
ABCLionel Richie, Ryan Seacrest, Carrie Underwood and Luke Bryan in their first photo together as the Season 23 cast of “American Idol.”
Though the whole cast has known Underwood for years, it’s still a slight adjustment for Richie and Bryan to go from judging with Perry to doing so with Underwood.
“She is using one word that Luke and I have to kind of get used to,” Richie told “Entertainment Tonight” after their first day of auditions. “She goes, ‘Oh, but they’re so sweet!'”
Underwood chimed in, “There were so many really nice, sweet, wonderful people just waiting for their dreams to come true and sometimes you have to say, ‘Not today.’
Meanwhile, something Underwood has to get used to is the long days filming auditions.
On “The Tonight Show,” Bryan told Fallon, “The audition process is like 13 hour days. We wake up and we get there, and what people don’t realize is we do 35 auditions a day typically. You can’t rush through them.”
“Sometimes they have talent and you’ve got to work with them,” he continued, explaining that contestants’ vocal skills aren’t always obvious right off the bat. “And then they give you one little glimmer of, like, ‘Oh my gosh!’ And so you spend time with them.”
am i tripping or is this american idol….
As the judges kicked off the season, someone spotted the cast filming auditions in a New York skyscraper “near Penn Station” and tweeted a photo, writing, “am i tripping or is this american idol…”
Season 23 of “American Idol” will begin airing in early 2025. There are four virtual audition dates remaining between October 8 and 17 for last-minute hopefuls. Those who get through auditioning for a producer will try out in front of the judges at a later date.
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Carrie Underwood Reveals Biggest Struggle as ‘American Idol’ Starts Filming