Ryan Seacrest Insists There’s a Side of ‘Superstar’ Carrie Underwood Most People Don’t See

In the two decades since Carrie Underwood exploded on the music scene following her “American Idol” win in 2025, she’s become one of the world’s best-known country artists. Even so, Ryan Seacrest says there are many people who don’t know a lot about Underwood, including how funny she is.

“I feel a connection to her because I got to see her go through this process and watch her become the global superstar she is,” Seacrest said in a Billboard interview published on March 10, 2026. He then turned to Underwood to tell her, “I love your sense of humor.”

Carrie Underwood is Far Funnier Than People Think, Ryan Seacrest Says

GettyRyan Seacrest and Carrie Underwood in 2016 and ringing in 2026 in Times Square.
Seacrest has known Underwood since 2004, when she took her first-ever flight from Oklahoma to Los Angeles to audition for “American Idol.” Just 21, she would go on to win the fourth season and then take the country world by storm with hits like “Jesus Take The Wheel.”

Underwood has managed to protect her privacy, including shielding her young boys and husband, former NHL player Mike Fisher, from the limelight and public scrutiny. But by appearing to be more reserved, Seacrest told Billboard, most people would never guess how funny she is.

“I see Carrie out in the wild, in the world,” he explained. “She’s beloved. She’s kind. She’s super-talented.” And she’s also very funny, Seacrest said.

“You are so funny with us,” he told her during the joint interview. “It’s in the show. It’s outside of the show. It’s quick. It’s sarcastic. It’s dry, and I don’t know that everyone gets to see that side of you always, but it makes me laugh.”

“And when we see it in the show, it’s great,” Seacrest added. “When we see it in our lives, it’s great. And we appreciate you for all the things people know you for. But for us, thank you for the levity and the fun that you bring.”

Carrie Underwood Says ‘American Idol’ Wouldn’t Be the Same Without Ryan Seacrest

GettyRyan Seacrest and Carrie Underwood visit the Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina, on May 28, 2006 — a year of her “American Idol” win.
Underwood had plenty of kind words for Seacrest, as well, telling Billboard, “Nobody else is Ryan Seacrest.”

Turning to the perennial “Idol” host, she told him, “I don’t want to say you’re underappreciated, because everybody appreciates you, but you are the piece to the puzzle of this show that if you weren’t here, it would not be the same.”

“You are so good at your job,” she continued, “and dealing with the contestants and their families, and you don’t realize because it seems so easy for you — you don’t realize how good you are at it, until you watch somebody else attempt it and they are not Ryan.”

Lionel Richie Weighed In on Working With Carrie Underwood, Too

In the same interview, “American Idol” judge Lionel Richie agreed that he loves Underwood’s “sense of humor” — on display when she performed “Stretchy Pants” on comedian Nate Bargatze’s 2024 holiday special (above).

Richie also told Billboard he knew Underwood was a kindred spirit when she showed up on the “American Idol” set with samples of the fruits and veggies she’d grown on her Tennessee farm and personally canned.

“I knew we were going to get along when she said, ‘I’ve done some canning,’” Richie, an avid gardener, told Billboard. “She never spoke one time about singing. She said, ‘I’ve brought some stuff in, and I’ve canned it for you.’”

“Yes, we have all these titles and stuff,” Richie said of Seacrest, Underwood, and fellow judge Luke Bryan. “But [they’re all] just great human beings to be around on a daily basis. I love these folks.”