Keith Urban Has Thoughts on Carrie Underwood as an ‘American Idol’ Judge

Keith Urban has a history with reality television. The Aussie superstar was a judge on American Idol from seasons 12-15, so he knows a thing or two about what it takes to sit behind the table, dishing advice to others.

Urban’s fellow country star and friend, Carrie Underwood, has been enlisted to fill an Idol judging spot left open by Katy Perry’s departure from the show, starting in spring 2025, and he has thoughts about her taking the seat.

During a recent chat with Urban in support of his upcoming album (more on that in a minute) on Taste of Country Nights, we asked his opinion on Carrie’s new gig.

“She’s gonna be great,” he says of the impact she’ll have on the long-running singing competition. Underwood won Season 4 of Idol in 2005 and has gone on to sell more than 85 million records an an artist.

“I mean, it’s such an advantage when you’ve been on the other side of the desk, like Carrie has, because she knows what they’re all going through,” Urban adds. “She’s a great call for that position, she’s gonna do excellent.”

Just for giggles, we asked, does he think Underwood would put him through to the next round if he were trying out for Idol? Urban got a kick out of the question, responding with a laugh:

“Probably not. Back in the day, I had a lot of work to do,” he admits. “Shoot, man. I went on a lot of those shows when I was a kid.”

Not all of his reality TV history is a fond memory, either.

“When I was 9 years old, I went on a show called Pot of Gold,” Urban recalls. “Three judges, went out there and sang and was completely crucified, and welcome to showbiz kid.”

Thankfully, those painful critiques of his talent are behind him. Like Underwood, Urban has gone on to become one of the most successful artists in country music history. On Sept. 20, he’ll release his first new album since 2020’s The Speed of Now Part 1, a project called High. It includes one collaboration, with Lainey Wilson.

High is Urban’s 11th studio album and includes twelve songs, a few of which are very personal to him.