Carrie Underwood & Luke Bryan Set To Return To ‘American Idol’ For 2026 Season

American Idol

They’re back.

Today, ABC announced that last year’s judges Luke Bryan, Lionel Richie and Carrie Underwood have all signed new deals and will return to American Idol for its ninth season on the network (and 24th overall) this year. No word yet on if longtime host Ryan Seacrest will return, but it’s likely that he will also resign his contract for the show.

Both Luke and Lionel have been judges since Idol started 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.

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.

They shared the announcement on Instagram earlier, featuring videos from all three judges telling fans that class was “back in session”:

The show will start airing in 2026, but producers’ auditions will begin on August 26th and will take place with a live virtual nationwide search across all 50 states if you’re looking to audition for this upcoming season.

I’ll be honest, I haven’t been interested in a singing competition show like this since I watched the original American Idol years ago, but it’s cool that there’s 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 themselves or blow everyone away.

Idol Across America audition dates:

“First 900” VIP Event (Aug. 26)
Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi (Aug. 27)
Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas (Aug. 28)
Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina (Sept. 2)
Nationwide open call (Sept. 3)
Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania (Sept. 4)
Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, New Hampshire, Tennessee (Sept. 8)
Alaska, California, Hawaii, Nevada, Washington (Sept. 9)
Florida, Michigan, Virginia, West Virginia (Sept. 11)
East Coast open call (Sept. 12)
The South open call (Sept. 15)
Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Wisconsin (Sept. 16)
West and Midwest open call (Sept. 18)
Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, Ohio, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, D.C. (Sept. 19)
Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Wyoming (Sept. 22)
Nationwide open call (Sept. 24)

Carrie’s Journey From American Idol To Country Superstardom

Since 2005, Carrie has become a country superstar, selling over 85 million records worldwide, scored 28 #1 singles, won eight Grammy’s and seven CMA Awards.

She’s 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’s easily in the conversation for the best vocalist in mainstream country music over the last 20 years.

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:

“I remember being at home, in our little house in Checotah, and seeing on TV that there were auditions in St. Louis. My mom said, ‘If you wanna go, I’ll drive you.’ I went from nobody knowing my name, to tens of millions of people watching the show.

I’m proud of everything I was able to accomplish on the show, and I’m so proud of everything  I’ve accomplished since.”

The small town girl from Oklahoma has obviously became a megastar even beyond country music, and she’s gone on to have plenty of #1 singles on the radio, won just about every award there is, from Grammy’s, to ACM’s, CMA Awards, her Reflection residency in Las Vegas, in addition to owning her own clothing line and being a mom to two little boys.

American Idol has yet to announce an official date, which was renewed by ABC earlier this spring, but it should be airing sometime early next year.

While you’re 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 “I Can’t Make You Love Me”: