American Idol

Though Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan just kicked off their eighth season behind the iconic American Idol judge’s desk, they told Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon on Wednesday night (March 5) that newcomer Carrie Underwood is already shaking things up just one week into her tenure.
“She was the number one at the beginning,” Richie said of Underwood, 41, who memorably won the fourth season of the show when she was 21 and said she still has her “14887” contestant sticker from her audition. Asked what it’s like to have an OG Idol on the show, pop icon Richie said their new partner is a “jukebox… she knows every song that the contestants are singing,” joking that Underwood can’t help joining in.

“I go Carrie, ‘they’re competing. It’s not you. You already won,’” Richie joked, as Underwood defended herself by explaining that if a nervous contestant flubs a lyric she is happy to be their human “Teleprompter. I got you. I will help you.”

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As for whether contestants still try to “butter up” the panel by covering their songs, Underwood said they’ve all had it happen so far, for good or ill. “They think it’s to compliment us, but some days we’re just praying, ‘Please God, just let them be able to sing it.’ And sometimes they nail it and sometimes it goes south real fast,” Richie admitted.

Replacing fan favorite Katy Perry, Underwood appears to have slipped into the pump-up pal seat with no hiccups. Richie said the country star immediately said yes to the first singer the panel saw, then again for the second one, only to reach a crossroads for singer number three out of nearly 200. “Luke and I were laughing, ‘well, she’s gotta say no,’” Richie recalled. “And she said, ‘well, she’s so cute… she’s so adorable.’ I said, ‘the answer is no!’”

“I care a lot and it’s people’s hopes and dreams,” Underwood said in her defense. “I’m trying to evaluate, ‘is there more in there,’” she added, as Richie flashed some performative exasperation at his co-star’s gentle nature. “There was not any more in that woman’s [inaudible]… it was a firm ‘no,’” Bryan said.

Asked if some of the singers get nervous in front of the superstar panel, Bryan said he’s basically become an amateur psychologist at this point. “I can read a fainter when they’re about to faint… we had one kid and I went behind him and kind of patted him down and he was 157 degrees, his body temperature,” he said.

The trio kicked off their visit with a competitive, trash-dancing showdown in the “Name That Song Challenge,” during which Bryan and Richie faced off against Underwood and Fallon. Racing to guess which instrumental versions of pop songs house band the Roots were playing while adding one instrument at a time, UnderFallon shot out to an early lead when the host quickly guessed Cyndi Lauper’s “Girls Just Want to Have Fun.”

Fallon rubbed in his correct guess with a hip-shaking dance and impromptu duet with Underwood, cheekily asking his rivals, “isn’t this the best game ever?” A not-amused Richie rolled his eyes and shot back sarcastically, “this is so much fun,” with Bryan pointing to the other team and saying, “she’s a jukebox and all you do [Fallon] is listen to music!”

The next one was trickier, with Fallon incorrectly guessing the Commodores’ “Brick House,” as the band’s former singer Richie snagged the obvious answer: the Jackson 5’s “ABC,” which set him and Bryan off on their own touchdown dance routine. They all struggled with the third track, with Fallon finally humming out Billie Eilish’s “Birds of a Feather” for the win, then fanning himself theatrically.

After Underwood nailed Huey Lewis & the News’ “Power of Love” to Bryan’s chagrin, Richie rocked back with a correct guess on Heart’s “Barracuda,” setting off a friendly twin air guitar solo with Fallon that lead to a celebratory couple’s waltz for the team that correctly guessed the last song. American Idol airs at 8 p.m. ET on Sunday (March 9) on ABC.

Click below to find out who won the guessing game and to hear Underwood, Bryan and Richie talk about the new season of Idol.