Luke Bryan shared some insight into the American Idol audition process now that former Idol winner Carrie Underwood has joined the competition show as a judge. The next season is set to premiere in spring 2025.
Bryan joined host and comedian Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show on Wednesday (October 2) to discuss his new album (Mind Of A Country Boy) and returning to Idol for a new season. The audition process is underway with returning judges Bryan and Lionel Richie, and newcomer Underwood, who joined the show after Katy Perry’s departure.
“The audition process is like 13-hour days,” Bryan said on The Tonight Show. “We wake up and we get there, and what people don’t realize is we do 35 auditions a day, typically. And man, you can’t rush through them. …Sometimes their talent is right on the (cusp), right there. And then they give you one little glimmer of like, ‘oh, my gosh.’ And so, you spend time with them.
“We’ve got Carrie Underwood with us this year,” Bryan continued. “And Carrie is — you know, like yesterday, we had a kid like, ‘I will work so hard,’ and Carrie was like, ‘I didn’t realize they would do this.’ …Carrie’s doing great. We’re having fun. …She knows exactly what all the kids are going through.”
Underwood won American Idol in 2005. She confirmed over the summer that she would return to the show that launched her career. This time, she’s serving as a judge after previously returning as a mentor and a performer. Longtime host Ryan Seacrest said it was “a full-circle moment to go from announcing (Underwood) as the winner of [American Idol] 20 years ago to now welcoming (her) to the judge’s table.” Underwood said it feels like she’s “coming back home,” as she makes her return to the show two decades after her victory.
Bryan took the stage on The Tonight Show to deliver a rendition of “Love You, Miss You, Mean It,” one of 14 tracks that appears on the five-time Entertainer of the Year’s eighth studio album. Bryan told iHeartCountry on the red carpet at the 17th ACM Honors tat Mind Of A Country Boy is “a reflection of where I’m at in my life right now.” Watch his performance here: