Carrie Underwood Angela Weiss/AFP/Getty Images
Carrie, take the wheel!
American Idol is getting a new judge, former winner Carrie Underwood, and there’s a pretty simple reason why producers chose her to replace Katy Perry: “She is our queen,” showrunner and executive producer Megan Wolflick declared.
“Well, it is 20 years since she auditioned in St. Louis for American Idol, and to have the first ever Idol alum on the panel has always been something that’s been interesting to me,” Wolflick told Entertainment Tonight in an interview published on Thursday, August 1, after Underwood’s appointment was announced.
“She is our queen, she is our icon of American Idol,” added the showrunner.
Underwood, 41, will join Luke Bryan and Lionel Richie on the judging panel for season 23, 20 years after winning the singing competition in 2005, ABC confirmed Thursday.
Wolflick told ET that the Idol team has been searching for a new judge for some time after Perry, 39, confirmed her departure in February.
“We have been searching, you know, and obviously talking to Carrie for a little bit here. It has been a little over 2 months since the [season 22] finale, but these talks have been going on for a while and we’ve been really excited to make it all happen,” said Wolflick.
One person who’s excited to have Underwood join the show is Idol’s longtime host Ryan Seacrest, who presided over Underwood’s winning season 20 years ago.
“Ryan couldn’t be more excited, since he has been there every step of the way with Carrie,” said the showrunner. “He was like just over the moon about it.”