American Idol fans are getting a sneak peek at the new season! After the 2025 Academy Awards air on March 4, viewers should keep their TV tuned to ABC to get a special, half-hour-long look at the upcoming season.
Videos by American Songwriter
The sneak peek will give viewers their first look at 2005 Idol winner Carrie Underwood as a judge. She’ll be joined by returning judges Luke Bryan and Lionel Richie. Ryan Seacrest, the competition series’ longtime host, is also returning.
“This upcoming season marks 20 years since Carrie won America’s hearts on Idol and launched her successful multi-GRAMMY Award-winning career. As a former Idol and dynamic musical force, she brings a remarkably unique perspective to one of the most popular shows on television,” Craig Erwich, president, Disney Television Group, said in a press release. “This is a full-circle moment both for the show and audiences at home who have been tuning in for over two decades. Welcome home, Carrie.”
“Carrie Underwood is the first American Idol alum ever to join the judging panel. Her global superstar status as the most successful Idol winner to date makes her a perfect fit for the show,” Megan Wolflick, show-runner and executive producer of American Idol, added. “She embodies the true spirit of Idol as she herself is the definition of the Cinderella story. Our future hopefuls will have the chance to receive advice from someone who has walked in their exact footsteps every step of the way.”
The First American Idol Audition of the Season
The first-look at the season will also give fans a look at the hopefuls auditioning to become the next superstar. A seven-minute clip of the special gave fans a peek at one such person.
In the clip, 17-year-old Slater Nalley gets a special introduction from Mrs. Davis, his high school English teacher.
Before Nalley begins his audition, Davis tells the judges how Nalley took a poem she wrote about her late son and turned it into a song.
Titled “Traces of You,” Nalley tells the judges that the song is “the most deep thing” he’s ever written. He goes on to sing the emotional track, which “put a little bit of joy in a dark place.”
Playing guitar, Nalley puts his traditional country vocals on full display as he sings the powerful lyrics. Underwood certainly feels the deep meaning of the song, as she breaks down in tears amid Nalley’s performance. Bryan and Richie are moved too, tearing up as Nalley sings.
“Every single person that hears that can fill in that memory of someone that’s within themselves,” Underwood says. “I couldn’t have imagined you doing that any better.”
Bryan and Richie agree, and the judges decide to forego a vote as they tell Nalley in unison, “You’re going to Hollywood.”
The eighth season of American Idol on ABC and the franchise’s 23rd season overall officially premieres with a two-hour episode Sunday, March 9. It will air next day on Hulu.
Photo by Disney/Eric McCandless
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