American Idol
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American Idol contestant Doug Kiker has died at age 32. The singer’s sister, Angela Evans, shared the news with a Facebook post on Wednesday, writing, “It is with a heavy heart that we have to announce the passing of my brother Douglas Kiker.” “He was sooo loved and will be missed by so many!” she […]
Sure, Carrie Underwood is the country star behind hits like “Before He Cheats” and “All-American Girl,” but turns out, she’s also a huge fan of nu-metal. In a clip from season 23 of American Idol, in which Underwood took over for Katy Perry on the judges panel alongside Luke Bryan and Lionel Richie, an 18-year-old […]
Baylee Littrell proved that talent definitely doesn’t skip a generation. The 22-year-old did not shy away from his famous father on Sunday night (March 9) during his audition on American Idol‘s season 23 premiere. “There’s something about you that looks familiar,” new judge and former champ Carrie Underwood told the handsome Georgia singer who definitely has his dad’s smile.
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Rather than tamp down the connection, the video package introducing Baylee leaned hard into his “nepo baby” status, beginning with a throwback video of the singer as a toddler on stage with his dad, Backstreet Boys legend Brian Littrell, who announces, “this is the new generation of Backstreet Boys.”
“And you look like your dad!” Underwood said, as fellow judge Luke Bryan apologized, “You must forgive me, I didn’t have your dad’s posters in my room.” In a montage of some of his dad’s biggest moments, Baylee said he definitely got his voice from his father. “I guess you could say music runs in our family,” he said while pulling off a clunky spin and admitting, “dance moves-wise that is the one thing genetically that did not pass down.”
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And if you think it would be intimidating to give music a shot when your pops is one of the biggest boy band stars of all time, Baylee agreed. “Following in my dad’s footsteps is scary,” Baylee said. “Because his career to me is one of the most extraordinary in music history.” In one of the most touching moments, Baylee recalled the time when he was eight or nine and he got to open up for the BSB at a huge arena show and play his “two little songs.”
Ramping up the emotion, Brian Littrell said he’s always told everyone that his son is “ten times more talented” that he is, something Baylee proved when he sang an “emotional” original about wanting to give up called “Waiting on Myself to Die.” When Baylee began strumming his acoustic guitar and crooning the song’s turbulent lyrics — “I don’t know what to do anymore/ I seem to be by all alone this war” — the judges leaned forward in rapt attention.
“You’re really good,” Underwood said. “Like, you’re really good. I loved the song,” she added about the risk of playing an original while telling Baylee that she thinks he can go “very, very far” in the competition. Proud papa Brian was near tears after the performance, bragging that he also thinks his son could go far in the family business. “We’re super proud. He’s obviously grown up in the business and He’s cut out for it,” Brian said.
Bryan asked if father and son ever sing together, which got Brian out on the audition stage to harmonize on the original’s chorus with Baylee. “I’m very happy for you and very proud of your son,” said judge Lionel Richie. “He’s got his own lane and I think you can go a long way. Very happy for you.”
Baylee, of course, made it through to Hollywood, leading to waterworks for both him and his dad.
And, for the record, this isn’t his first rodeo. Baylee has released a number of single to date, including the emotional single “Boxes” in 2019, whose video featured father and son together. The song was the follow up to Baylee’s debut track, “Don’t Knock It,” which the then-rising country singer got to work out when he hit the road with Backstreet for their DNA world tour.
Watch Baylee Littrell’s audition below.
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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.
As Carrie Underwood‘s career is about to come full-circle, the onetime American Idol hopeful is looking back to where she started.
In a new episode of the reality show’s Icon to Idol series posted to YouTube on Tuesday — just days ahead of the season 23 premiere, on which Underwood will make her debut as a judge — the country star rewatches her 2005 audition and gets emotional. In the old footage, a much younger version of herself sings Bonnie Raitt’s “I Can’t Make You Love Me” for the O.G. panel comprised of Simon Cowell, Randy Jackson and Paula Abdul, who unanimously push her through to Hollywood.
“I have no idea how that 21-year-old Carrie was able to muster up enough guts to walk into a room and audition in front of Simon, Paula and Randy, and the world,” Underwood says after the footage ends.
“At my audition, I think I was just trying to hold in all my emotions — literally, hold them into my body,” she continues, revealing that she still has her audition number memorized: “It’s tattooed in my brain. I should actually get a tattoo of that somewhere on my body. Because I will always be 14887.”
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A few months after her tryout, Underwood would go on to win the fourth season of Idol and kickstart a long, successful career in country music, complete with four top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 as well as four No. 1 albums on the Billboard 200. She’ll soon experience what it’s like to be on the other side of the Idol auditions process once the next season of the show officially premieres Sunday (March 9), taking over Katy Perry’s vacant spot on the panel next to co-judges Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan.
She’ll also be the only judge to know exactly what it’s like to go through the show’s wringer. After rewatching her audition on Idol to Icon, Underwood also looked through the two-decade-old journal she kept while she was a contestant on the show and got choked up.
“I don’t even know if I could tell her what she’s about to experience,” she says in the video, fighting back tears. “Seeing myself, 21 years old, the world ahead of you. Obviously, it’s overwhelming, but you’re gonna do fine, kid. You’re gonna be OK. Just hold on.”
Watch Underwood get emotional after rewatching her Idol audition above.
The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. Backstreet Boys superstar Brian Littrell revealed on the Today show that his 22-year-old son, Baylee, will appear on the upcoming season of American Idol. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news “He was just texting me last night, going, ‘Dad, […]
Jelly Roll is stepping into a new Jelly role! The Grammy-nominated country superstar is set to appear on the 23rd season of American Idol, as the show’s first-ever “artist in residence,” according to Variety. Per the publication, Jelly will first appear on the season during the “Hollywood Week” episodes and continue to become “a permanent […]
Katy Perry feels confident in the future of American Idol, even if she’s no longer a part of the show.
The pop star shared how she really feels about Carrie Underwood replacing her as a judge on the long-running competition series, telling People on Thursday (Jan. 30) she thinks her seat is in good hands.
“She was born on that show,” Perry said of the “Before He Cheats” singer. “I think she knows how to steer it.”
The “Woman’s World” singer’s comments come about six months after it was announced that Underwood would be taking over her seat on the judge’s panel, which is also comprised of Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan. Perry announced her departure a few months prior during a February visit to Jimmy Kimmel Live!, explaining at the time, “I love the show so much, but I want to go see the world and maybe bring new music.”
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To People, Perry emphasized that Underwood is bringing a new perspective to the show that neither of her co-judges can provide. “She actually truly knows … what it feels like to be in [the contestants’] shoes,” the “Firework” artist said. “We could only metaphorically feel that as judges.”
The country star competed on Idol back in 2005, winning the show’s fourth season. In August, Underwood said that the show “feels like home” in an interview with Good Morning America and said, “I feel like being on both sides of the coin, I’ll be able to hopefully offer some insight and help.”
“I can’t lie. I just can’t,” she added at the time of her judging style. “You can tell. I feel like I’ll be very honest, but hopefully, you know, I can be very constructive and encouraging.”
Perry’s comments about Underwood come shortly after the country drew a mixed reaction for her choice to perform at Donald Trump’s inauguration ceremony earlier this month, with the “Jesus, Take The Wheel” artist singing “America the Beautiful” a cappella after technical difficulties messed with her background music. Leading up to the event, Underwood defended her decision to perform, saying in a statement: “I love our country and am honored to have been asked to sing at the Inauguration and to be a small part of this historic event.”
She added, “I am humbled to answer the call at a time when we must all come together in the spirit of unity and looking to the future.”
Two decades ago, Carrie Underwood auditioned for American Idol, during the reality music competition’s fourth season in 2005. Now a multi-award winning, multi-faceted singer, songwriter, entertainer, author and actress, Underwood will return to where it all began next year, as a judge on American Idol, where she will replace former Idol judge Katy Perry.
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On March 9, she will join Luke Bryan and Lionel Richie at the judges’ table, when the American Idol season premiere launches on ABC and streams on Hulu.
A new video previewing the upcoming season shows the moment Underwood stepped into the audition room as a judge for the first time, juxtaposing the moment with footage of Underwood’s American Idol audition in 2005. When Underwood auditioned on American Idol, she performed the Bonnie Raitt classic “I Can’t Make You Love Me,” and auditioned for then-judges Paul Abdul, Simon Cowell and Randy Jackson.
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“Twenty years ago I was standing on a stage just like this one,” Underwood can be seen saying in the video.
“And now you’re sitting here with us,” Richie replies.
“That’s the power of American Idol,” Bryan adds.
Host Ryan Seacrest then asks, “So, should we save some lives together?”
“Let’s do this,” Underwood replies with a smile.
Since her own win on American Idol, Underwood has earned 16 No. 1 Billboard Country Airplay hits, as well as eight Grammy trophies and 16 ACM Awards. She’s spearheaded her own Reflection: The Las Vegas residency (which continues through April 2025), released the book Find Your Path, launched the fitness app Fit52, and starred in the show open for NBC’s Sunday Night Football for 12 consecutive seasons. She also launched the SiriusXM channel Carrie’s Country, followed by Carr-dio by Carrie’s Country, and Savior Sunday Daily by Carrie’s Country, both of which stream on the SiriusXM app. Underwood recently made a guest appearance on comedian Nate Bargatze’s holiday special, which aired on CBS.
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Modern holiday chestnuts by veterans of the long-running TV talent competition.
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