Carrie Underwood knew her one flaw could be a 'big problem' as new 'American Idol' judge — and it is
Carrie Underwood, the winner of season 4 of 'American Idol,' was announced as the new judge in place of former long-term judge on the show Katy Perry in the upcoming season 23. Speaking of her entry as a judge, Underwood opened up to ABC News about her thoughts on returning to the show: "It feels like going home." She added, "There are so many people that even still work on the show who were there from when I was a contestant." About the challenges she is anticipating after she takes the seat on the panel, Underwood revealed, "I feel like being on both sides of the coin, I'll be able to hopefully offer some insight and help and kind of offer a different viewpoint."
Even though Underwood's musical journey, marked with 8 Emmy Awards, is a testament that she is a well-deserving candidate to be in the hot seat along with other judges Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan, she admitted there is one "big problem" she'll have to face on the show: "I can't lie," she told the outlet. And added, I just can't. You can tell," she revealed. "I feel like I'll be very honest, but hopefully I can be very constructive and encouraging."
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Even Richie shared an incident of Underwood when the trio appeared on 'The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon' on March 5, only a couple of days ahead of the premiere of season 23. Richie told Fallon how the country singer would find it difficult to say 'No' to the hopefuls who couldn't perform well in their auditions. He shared an incident when the 'How Great Thou Art' singer could easily give two yeses, but when it came to saying "No," she hesitated. Richie then recalled, “Luke and I were laughing, ‘Well, she’s gotta say no,’” Richie said. “And she said, ‘Well, she’s so cute… she’s so adorable.’ I said, ‘The answer is no!"
Despite Underwood being the nice guy of the industry, she has faced her share of criticism the moment she stepped into the shoes of a judge in season 23. On Reddit, one user wrote, "Idol should just find a new judge. Bet their ratings tank because of her." Another said, "I mean, they’re running out on that seat. They had Katy Perry previously and didn’t want her back, but I know they don’t want this either." The third wrote, "Carrie Underwood is douchey, and her manager is worse. My mom had an experience with both of them at the hotel where she worked."
Even Luke Bryan had doubts if anyone else could fill in for Perry. "Katy was perfect for that job, and I think they’re just working hard to find somebody that can come in and do the job that Katy did," he told The Sun. He also confessed that Underwood was not the first choice of the producers, revealing that Pink, Miley Cyrus, and even Meghan Trainor had been in talks to be the judge on the show. However, after the show's premiere on March 9 and till now, fans have slowly warmed up to Underwood; as reported by the aforementioned outlet, some fans are even calling her "A breath of fresh air" on 'American Idol.'