A hot new American Idol judge has entered the villa.
After Katy Perry announced her exit from the ABC singing competition show in February, that sacred center seat was left vacant. Perry brought the show a certain debauchery; she may not have been the most mentorly figure, but she was damn funny. Now, producers have abandoned that humorous instinct for a nostalgia play: The new judge is Carrie Underwood, winner of American Idol Season 4.
Underwood certainly has star power—dive bars across the country blast “Before He Cheats” to explosive cheers. But she’s not exactly known for her huge personality. A country singer, Underwood represents a more Americana charm, investing her millions into understated cashmere sweaters and rhinestone cowboy hats. There’s a vaguely suburban relatability to her, like what Gwen Stefani turned into after marrying Blake Shelton. Perry, on the other hand, is as far from relatable as possible. After all, she did throw slices of grease-laden pizza at Las Vegas club-goers.
The show’s other two judges, Luke Bryan and Lionel Richie, will stay the same. Next to Bryan and Richie’s reliable dullness, Perry’s extravagance made her Idol’s outrageous, entertaining apparent face. On the show’s 2018 Disney week, she came dressed head to toe as Snow White, bellowing out jokes while biting into an apple. Bryan and Richie came in their everyday attire. (When she was pregnant during a subsequent season, she came out in Disney Week dressed as Dumbo’s mother.)
Perry was a necessary foil, a dash of camp added to the panel’s stoic industry insider vibe. But Underwood seems like more of the same—a music veteran there to provide expertise and just be nice, not put on a show.
Perry was also aggressively memeable. When one contestant offhandedly responded “wig,” Perry’s ears perked up. “Wig, did you just say wig?” she asks, before leaning in with emotional connection: “Wig, I feel that already.” When Bryan and Richie tried to join in on the banter, Perry snapped, “It’s not your language, it’s just for us,” before telling the contestant she loved them. TikTok recreations and Twitter reactions ensued.
She also allowed her emotions to fly free, heightening the stakes of the show. One contestant revealed the horrific atrocities of his past: A gunman had terrorized his school, killing eight students and two teachers. Perry broke down, screaming, “Our country has fucking failed us!” with a single tear running down her cheek. The internet, as it has a habit of doing, took the clip out of context, with Perry’s scream-out becoming a classic social media reaction. But, even outside of its memeability, the moment is shockingly earnest. It’s powerful, it’s raw, and it's especially jaw-dropping coming from the usually light-hearted Perry.
Taking the role of a mentor in these singer’s lives, Perry had less success. Still, there were some hits. One contestant chose to sing Perry’s own “E.T.,” always a ballsy choice on singing competition shows. She sang with an aggressive cursive tilt, like Halsey on steroids. In her cow print gown and hat, Perry stops her: “I’d like to hear 30 seconds more, no gimmicks.” Switching to Amy Winehouse’s “Valerie,” the contestant was continually halted by Perry’s interjections: “Slow down,” “say all the words,” “enunciate the words.” She ended up calling the contestant “freaky” and “weird” (in a positive way), but the guidance was clear enough: Sing with your own voice, not like a 13-year-old on TikTok.
Now, Perry’s left the show to pursue new music. The results have been rough: Perry’s single “Woman’s World” is a cartoonish take on a feminist anthem, a riff on Rachel Platten’s “Fight Song” written 10 years too late. The reviews were scathing: Pitchfork called her “pop music’s Jenna Maroney,” while Dazed said it was “female empowerment filtered through the lens of a Ryan Murphy show.” The damage was so bad, Perry seems to have pivoted to the album’s second single with record speed. Whether you like “Woman’s World” or not (and you’re hard-pressed to find someone who does), Perry clearly captured the online zeitgeist.
Underwood lacks this culture-making streak. She’s only cracked the Billboard Hot 100 once since 2016, with her Jason Aldean duet “If I Didn't Love You.” Jason Aldean has since become a MAGA figurehead with his alt-right approach to small-town country. Underwood herself has ties to some Trumpisms: Her husband, hockey player Mike Fisher, came out in support of Aaron Rodgers’ anti-vaxx stance. “I believe in the freedom to choose what we put in our bodies and the freedom of conscience. I agree with [Rodgers] in that the science clearly shows the vaccinated spread covid at basically the same rate as the unvaccinated,” Fisher wrote in an Instagram caption.
Reality singing programs have a history of bombastic pop stars leading the judging panel. The original Idol pre-reboot had Paula Abdul to show off. Mariah Carey and Nicki Minaj later sparred on the show. On The X Factor, Britney Spears gave Fifth Harmony copious amounts of side-eye. Underwood doesn’t seem to have this same spark. She’s talented, she’s infamous, and she surely means a lot to the Idol world. But she’s also plain boring.
