American Idol’s Carrie Underwood Was ‘Nervous’ About Judging Her First Audition — How Did She Do?
ABC allowed Carrie Underwood to reintroduce herself on Sunday, offering curious viewers a taste of what she’ll bring to the judges’ table when American Idol officially returns for Season 23 on March 9 (8/7c).
The 30-minute post-Oscars special kicked off with Underwood’s “first day on the other side of the table,” a mere 20 years after she won Idol herself. One of the biggest changes she noticed was the impressive quality of the golden tickets, a considerable upgrade from the “yellow piece of paper” she recalled being handed back in 2005.
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Underwood’s first-ever contestant arrived in the form of 25-year-old Sonny Tennet, a mustachio’d Ed Sheeran type from the UK. The unassuming singer-songwriter had Underwood melting into her hands within seconds of his smooth, riff-riddled take on the Commodores’ “Easy.” Between this being Underwood’s first time at bat, plus Tennet performing a song by fellow judge Lionel Richie, this audition could have gone south really quickly — but ABC wasn’t about to kick off the new season with a flop.
Richie was thoroughly impressed by Tennet, praising him for making the song his own before passing the mic to Underwood for her first-ever critiques. “I felt my heart aflutter,” she said of Tennet’s “joyous” performance, calling it a “perfect song choice.” Then it was over to Luke Bryan to wrap things up.
So, what did we learn from Underwood’s brief first time judging an Idol audition? For starters, she may be replacing Katy Perry, but she’s not replacing her energy. Underwood’s commentary is insightful, and there’s a warm playfulness to her chemistry with both the contestants and her fellow judges, but she’s considerably more soft-spoken than her predecessor.
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Underwood admitted to having first day jitters (“I don’t know why I’m nervous, I’m not auditioning!”), so it’s possible that she’ll settle into her position as the season progresses. A montage of future audition episodes included several interesting teases, including one contestant being so scared of Underwood that Bryan dubs her “Scary Carrie.” (To be fair, anyone who isn’t at least a little bit afraid of her obviously hasn’t seen the music video for “Before He Cheats.” If she could do all that to a truck, just imagine what she could do to you.)
Sunday’s preview introduced a few more memorable contestants, including Thunderstorm Artis, whose original song about his wife made all the judges emotional, and Manhattan musician Amanda Barise, who left Underwood “possessed” with her impressive take on James Brown’s “It’s A Man’s Man’s Man’s World.”
What did you think of Underwood’s judging debut? Grade it in our poll below, then drop a comment with your thoughts on all things American Idol.
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