"Might have a problem" - American Idol judge Lionel Richie shares first impression of Carrie Underwood

Carrie Underwood has walked through the entire journey of American Idol and emerged victorious. Thus, the news of her being cast as a judge for the new season 23 was not a shocker. She is qualified to understand the feelings of the contestants and how they must feel as they deliver their performances.

However, the other judges on the panel, before her joining in, were worried about this addition. Lionel Richie, a fellow judge on American Idol, chimed in with his views of what he thought Carrie was as a person, versus what she will be as a judge.

All he had heard about was how nice she was and how sweet everyone found her to be. However, to be a judge on the show, you need to be "vicious," and her sweetness overshadowed the other side.

Thus, Lionel Richie was worried, but since then, he has accepted her for bringing a fresh perspective to the show. He said to Billboard,

"We kept hearing, ‘She’s so sweet, so cute,’ and we thought we might have a problem with her, because where’s that vicious side? And then she finally had to say no to someone. The first time, we almost had to stop the show. She said to Luke, ‘Do I have to do this some more?’ I said, ‘You’ve got about a hundred more to go.’”

American Idol judge Lionel Richie shares her opinion of Carrie Underwood

Carrie Underwood is a country singer who first appeared on American Idol in season 4. She went through the whole phase of the process and emerged victorious, thus giving a boost to her career in the industry.

Since then, she has been a successful country music star and has various successful albums under her belt. Returning to grace the stage of the singing reality TV show, Lionel says that Carrie has brought a certain "compassion" to the stage that helps them understand the contestants better.

However, Carrie is not only "sweet" to the contestants, but to her fellow judges as well. Lionel shared,

"I always love to tell this story — she brought us a basket of goodies. Stewed okra, pickles. And I thought to myself, ‘That’s so sweet. She stopped by a market and she picked up one of these baskets.’ No, everything in that basket was homemade. That was kind of different for us.”

Lionel continued by saying that she carries the charm of what "America's sweetheart" is supposed to be. It is because she cares for everyone in the same way without differentiation and is full of kindness.

Given that American Idol is an unscripted reality TV competition show, Lionel says it requires everyone to act on a whim, and Carrie has been nailing her role.

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American Idol season 23 episodes can be watched weekly on Sundays and Mondays at 8 PM Eastern Time on ABC. Later, the episodes are available to stream via Hulu.

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