American Idol is back. And that means Luke Bryan, Lionel Richie, and Carrie Underwood are once again on the search for the next big star. With season 24 kicking off on Monday, fans have already started to pick their favorites. The season premiere featured more than auditions as one contestant decided to propose. Thankfully, his girlfriend said yes. But while promoting the new season on Jimmy Kimmel Live, Underwood shared some disappointing news about 2026.
While enjoying their time on the show, near the end of the interview, Kimmel asked the three about their plans outside of American Idol. For Bryan, he already announced his upcoming summer tour. Richie also teased some touring news in the near future. But what about Underwood? She admitted she isn’t planning on hitting the road for another tour.
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Instead of helming a tour, Underwood had the great idea to just go see Bryan and Richie. “I’ll go see them.”
Carrie Underwood Focuses On Her Career Off The Stage
It has been a few years since Underwood toured. In 2022, she released her latest studio album with Denim & Rhinestones. To help promote the album, she offered a tour. That tour consumed both 2022 and 2023. Since then, the singer focused on her career off the stage. She continues to cover the Sunday Night Football anthem for the NFL. She also traveled to Las Vegas for her Reflections residency. Her last show was in April 2025.
Although Underwood hasn’t toured in years, the hitmaker still produced a few performances to entertain her fans. But when it comes to a full tour, she appeared content with the trajectory of her career at this moment.
Excited for the new season of American Idol, Underwood, Bryan, and Richie already embraced the changes when the producers moved Hollywood Week to Nashville. With Nashville teaming with talent and creativity, it also served as the home to both Bryan and Underwood.
With season 24 just starting, don’t miss a new episode of American Idol, airing Mondays at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT on ABC and available to stream the following day on Hulu.
(Photo by Randy Holmes/Disney via Getty Images)
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