<p id=”par-1_68″><em><a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/tag/american-idol/?swcfpc=1″>American Idol</a></em> Season 23 welcomes <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/tag/carrie-underwood/?swcfpc=1″>Carrie Underwood</a> as a judge. Underwood attained a huge fan base after winning season 4 and became one of the most successful country music artists worldwide. Unfortunately, her star power potentially dropped after <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/carrie-underwood-not-feel-respected-admired-previous-performers-inauguration-source-says.html/”>her controversial performance at the second inauguration</a> of President Donald Trump. Here’s what an insider said about<em> American Idol</em> host Ryan Seacrest ensuring Underwood “stays golden” with the show’s fans.</p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-ryan-seacrest-has-allegedly-taken-carrie-underwood-under-his-wing-on-american-idol-season-23″>Ryan Seacrest has allegedly taken Carrie Underwood ‘under his wing’ on ‘American Idol’ Season 23</h2>
<p id=”par-2_66″><a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/carrie-underwood-appeared-tense-serious-filming-american-idol-source-says.html/”>Carrie Underwood is a first-time judge</a> on <em>American Idol</em> Season 23. Fans know her as the show’s season 4 winner who then became a country music sensation. While Underwood has never gotten outwardly political on social media or during her concerts, her choice to perform at the second inauguration of President Donald Trump was met with intense criticism. Some sources alleged that ABC disliked her choice.</p>
<p id=”par-3_38″><em>American Idol </em>host Ryan Seacrest is allegedly looking out for Underwood. An insider told <a href=”https://www.lifeandstylemag.com/posts/american-idols-ryan-seacrest-took-carrie-underwood-under-his-wing/” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>Life & Style</a> that Seacrest has “taken” Underwood “under his wing” and asked fellow judges Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan to do the same.</p>
<p id=”par-4_68″>“He wants them to really make her feel welcome, not just because he considers her a close friend but also because he would love for her to do more than one season,” the source continued. “He thinks it’s a huge coup to have one of the show’s biggest success stories front and center at the judges’ table and believes she’ll serve as an inspiration for all the contestants.”</p>
<p id=”par-5_54″>The insider noted that Seacrest hoped to avoid fans disliking Underwood, as many <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/american-idol-carrie-underwood-making-substantially-less-money-katy-perry-source-says.html/”>fans disliked Katy Perry</a>. “The backlash he got was awful; whatever the judges do affects him,” the source added. “So, he wants to do everything he can to make sure Carrie avoids any pitfalls and stays golden in the fans’ eyes.”</p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-ryan-seacrest-allegedly-thinks-of-the-country-music-star-as-his-favorite-judge”>Ryan Seacrest allegedly thinks of the country music star as his favorite judge</h2>
<figure class=”wp-block-image size-full” id=”emb-1″><img decoding=”async” src=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/American-Idol-judges.webp?strip=all&quality=80″ alt=”‘American Idol’ Season 23 judges Luke Bryan, Lionel Richie, and Carrie Underwood with host Ryan Seacrest all standing and smiling” class=”wp-image-3788930″><figcaption class=”wp-element-caption”>‘American Idol’ Season 23 judges Luke Bryan, Lionel Richie, and Carrie Underwood with host Ryan Seacrest | Kristina Bumphrey/Variety via Getty Images</figcaption></figure>
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Carrie Underwood’s ‘American Idol’ Judging Gig Is ‘Not in Jeopardy’ Over Inauguration, Source Claims </a>
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<p id=”par-6_32″>Another source told <a href=”https://www.lifeandstylemag.com/posts/ryan-seacrests-idolatry-of-carrie-underwood-at-a-crazy-level-excl/” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>Life & Style</a> that Ryan Seacrest idolizes Carrie Underwood. According to the insider, Seacrest thinks of the new <em>American Idol</em> judge as his favorite and treats her as such.</p>
<p id=”par-7_38″>“She’s quite nervous and wants to do her best job, and Ryan’s appointed himself Carrie’s guiding light,” the source alleged. “She’s his favorite, he gives her most if not all his attention, when she speaks, he’s all ears.”</p>
<p id=”par-8_20″>The source added that Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan get “really mad” at Seacrest for giving Underwood special treatment. </p>
<p id=”par-9_51″>“The guys are pretty spellbound by Carrie, too, and they don’t blame her a bit, but Ryan’s obvious preferential treatment of her has their noses out of joint and they’re getting really mad at him,” the insider said. “It’s almost like Luke and Lionel are not as important as they used to be.”</p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-an-american-idol-showrunner-congratulated-carrie-underwood-on-her-inauguration-performance”>An ‘American Idol’ showrunner congratulated Carrie Underwood on her inauguration performance</h2>
<p id=”par-10_36″><em>American Idol</em> fans were uncertain regarding Carrie Underwood’s inauguration performance. While many fans stood by her decision, others didn’t approve due to the current presidency. <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/carrie-underwood-wondering-inauguration-worth-mishaps-backlash-source-says.html/”>Rumors swirled that Underwood questioned</a> whether the performance was “worth it.”</p>
<p id=”par-11_52″>“How the performance was pitched to her and how it ended up going were two very different experiences,” the insider told <a href=”https://www.the-sun.com/entertainment/13376739/carrie-underwood-second-guessing-inauguration-performance-frustrated/” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>The U.S. Sun</a>. “… She’s proud of herself for how she handled such a chaotic situation, but I think she’s second-guessing this whole thing and wondering if it was worth it.”</p>
<p id=”par-12_55″>Contrary to the rumors, <em>American Idol</em> showrunner Megan Michaels Wolflick congratulated Underwood on the momentous performance. “That was her decision,” Michaels Wolflick told <a href=”https://www.thewrap.com/american-idol-season-23-carrie-underwood-katy-perry-exit-inauguration/” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>TheWrap</a>. “Katy Perry, who was a judge on our show, sang at the last inauguration as well, so isn’t that great that two <em>American Idol </em>judges sang at the last two inaugurations?”</p>
<p id=”par-13_11″><em>American Idol</em> Season 23 airs Sundays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.</p>
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