Carrie Underwood Makes Her American Idol Judging Debut
Two decades after winning American Idol, country superstar Carrie Underwood returned to the show for the first time in 2025 as a judge, joining Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan.
It was not only a full circle experience for Carrie, but also an emotional one. The “Remind Me” singer was brought to tears more than once last season as she watched contestants give it their all.
One of the most notable moments that made Carrie cry was when stay-at-home mom Breanna Nix brought her infant son with her when she auditioned for the show.
She performed Carrie’s hit “Jesus Take the Wheel” as her son, Emerson, sat on the country star’s lap during the audition. Carrie became so emotional, the moment became one of the season’s most heartwarming standouts.
Then, during Hollywood Week, Breanna Nix and fellow contestant Rylie O’Neill were paired for the head-to-head rounds, where they performed “Gratitude” by Christian artist Brandon Lake.
The faith-based song resonated deeply with Carrie, who has long been vocal about her Christian beliefs. She was brought to tears during the performance and later choked up as she praised the two contestants.
“Ladies, Rylie, Breanna, I wanna tell you how difficult it is to come into the entertainment industry and bring your faith with you,” she said. “It is a brave thing to do because there are a lot of outside forces that are gonna tell you not to do that. I wanna tell you that I’m proud of you guys.”
The irony of it all was Carrie mentioned at the beginning of the season that she “was not a cryer.”
@americanidol Ever cry watching #americanidol ♬ original sound – AmericanIdol
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Carrie Underwood Gets Emotional In New Preview Of American Idol Season 24
It appears this season is going to be another emotional one for Carrie, as a new American Idol preview shows her wiping away tears with a tissue after watching one of the contestants audition.
The clip shares an upcoming Season 24 hopeful, Hannah Harper, a stay-at-home mom of three young boys. Hannah shared during her audition that following the birth of her third, she suffered from postpartum depression.
She explained that the experience encouraged her to write her own song, which she sang for the judges.
“I have three little boys and after I had my youngest, I had postpartum depression,” she shared. “I remember being on the couch, they were all crying at the same time. I was praying that the Lord would calm my spirit, and I got up off my couch, and I wrote this song.”
Carrie, a mom to two boys herself, told Hannah that it was just about “the most relatable” song she had ever heard. Perhaps it’s because following the birth of her second son in 2019, the singer also opened up about her experiences with postpartum struggles.
“I’ve been pretty hard on myself lately,” Carrie shared in an Instagram post at the time. “I go into the gym and I can’t run as fast or as far. I can’t lift as much weight or do as many reps as I could a year ago. I just want to feel like myself again…for my body to feel the way that I know it can.”
Watch a clip of Hannah’s audition below.
American Idol Season 24 premieres on Monday, January 26 on ABC.