Luke Bryan had no idea who was behind the epic ‘American Idol’ prank — until the mask came off

"Who is that? Hey. Hey. Are you okay? What the... is that? Come on. Take him out of here," Lionel Richie said.
PUBLISHED APR 9, 2025
Screenshots from the sets of 'American Idol' in 2023. (Cover Image Source: YouTube| American Idol)
Screenshots from the sets of 'American Idol' in 2023. (Cover Image Source: YouTube| American Idol)

Caroline Bryan is a known prankster and loves pulling hilarious stunts on her unsuspecting husband, 'American Idol' judge Luke Bryan. Caroline disguised herself as a 'stagehand' during one of the 2023 audition episodes and tried to disrupt the sets with her wild antics. "Thank you. I think it's clean. Thank you. Aggressive on the piano," Luke remarked, unaware that his wife was cleaning the piano. Right then, contestant Skylar Dixon walked in for her turn to audition, and soon enough, the alarms went off. In the background, one of the crew members can be seen instructing everyone to turn off their phones. And Caroline can be spotted apologizing while switching her mobile off. 



 

"Sorry. Sorry," she mouths while continuing her masquerading act. "What happened?" Lionel Richie inquires, worried. "Alarm going off," Luke responded, visibly confused. Dixon then reveals that she will be singing 'My Church' by Maren Morris, and as she begins, Caroline starts to make shuffling noises with a chip bag and a water bottle. "Hey, guys. Hold on one second. Sorry. I just don't want your time to be disrespected," Katy Perry comments, appearing a little annoyed. By the time Dixon starts again, Caroline amplifies the sound; this time, Perry looks clearly irked and gets up from her seat to confront the perpetrator. "Who is rattling the damn? What the hell's going on?" "Thank you. That is enough," she says after snatching Caroline's bag of chips.

Caroline Boyer and Luke Bryan attend The 56th Annual CMA Awards at Bridgestone Arena on November 09, 2022, in Nashville, Tennessee. (Image Source: Getty Images| Photo by Jason Kempin)
Caroline Boyer and Luke Bryan attend The 56th Annual CMA Awards at Bridgestone Arena on November 09, 2022, in Nashville, Tennessee. (Image Source: Getty Images| Photo by Jason Kempin)

A tense moment unfolds as Caroline follows Perry to the shoot area and snatches her belongings back. All the while, Richie is in a state of panic, believing that they have been attacked by a male intruder. "Who is that? Hey. Hey. Are you okay? What the... is that? Come on. Take him out of here," he reacts. Perry once more goes after Caroline and uncovers the mask, revealing her true identity. Luke is pleasantly surprised, and the couple hugs it out. The clip then focuses on Caroline: "Luke and I have a history of pranks. We met in college, and we just would constantly prank each other. So this is going to be so much fun because Katie is in on this," she explained while also revealing that Perry already knew about the act. 



 

"What have you come up with tonight?" Perry asked Caroline in the vanity room, "I'm going to be a stagehand, and I'm just going to really annoy you. Annoy everybody, but you're just going to have it. So...like all the stuff he's done to me, he deserves it," Luke's wife hilariously admitted before pulling the unexpected act. Behind the scenes, Luke can be seen throwing the chips all over the floor. After that, he confronts Dixon: "Did you know about this?" It turns out she is a fake contestant. "God, baby! Were you in on this?" he then confronts Richie. "I didn't know anything about this," he confessed. "Katie knew," Caroline admitted. "Are you serious? Katie knew!" Luke responded with a look of betrayal as the segment came to an end with a dose of laughter. 

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