Idol Alum to Take Judge's Chair

The former contestant is becoming the judge. Carrie Underwood, who rose to country music fame as the winner of American Idol's fourth season in 2005, will become a judge on the show's upcoming 23rd season, Deadline reports. Underwood will reportedly replace Katy Perry, who announced her exit at the end of last season. She'd been in the judge's chair since ABC's 2018 reboot of the show for its 16th season. Fellow judges Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan, who joined alongside Perry, will return again this fall, while Perry is said to be focusing on her own music career.

Underwood "is widely considered the most successful of the American Idol winners," per Deadline. It's "a full circle moment, indeed," according to TMZ, which reports Underwood is "in the final stages" of contract negotiations. The outlet predicts an official announcement could come Friday as Underwood is scheduled to appear on ABC's Good Morning America. Miley Cyrus, Justin Bieber, Pink, and Meghan Trainor had been mentioned as other possible replacements for Perry, per Deadline. (More American Idol stories.)