Carrie Underwood’s Shocking Hollywood Week Confession: Why She Faced Boos on American Idol

American Idol judge Carrie Underwood opened up about facing significant audience disapproval during Hollywood Week, as shown in a recent preview clip. Carrie, who took on the judging role in season 23 alongside Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan after Katy Perry stepped down to concentrate on her music career, humorously admitted she got “booed A LOT.” As a former American Idol champion from season 4 with an illustrious music career, her addition to the judging panel seemed fitting.

Despite her star power, fans have often criticized Carrie for mirroring the dynamic of her fellow judges, Lionel and Luke, by offering mostly positive reinforcement rather than critical insights. This trend led to accusations that the judges were more like cheerleaders than evaluators. Carrie herself confessed to being wary of coming across as harsh. Yet, when she finally offered some critical advice to Jamal Roberts, who later won the season, she faced backlash from fans who argued it came too late in the competition.

On the social media platform X, Carrie shared her experience of being met with sharp criticism from the Hollywood Week audience. This particular phase of the competition, held in Nashville for season 24, required Carrie, Lionel, and Luke to whittle down the golden ticket winners from the auditions to a select group of 30 contestants.

Carrie Underwood Was Booed During American Idol Season 24 Hollywood Week

In an X post, Carrie revealed that she was on the receiving end of some harsh criticism from the Hollywood Week audience. During Hollywood Week, which takes place in Nashville for season 24, Carrie, Lionel, and Luke were tasked with narrowing down all of the golden ticket recipients from the auditions to just 30 contestants.

Carrie wrote, “Spoiler alert…I get booed A LOT from our Hollywood Week audience [flushed face emoji].” This revelation is rather shocking because Carrie has been known as America’s Sweetheart for the past two decades since she first appeared on American Idol. She’s known for her kind and quiet demeanor, so hearing that she had the same reaction from the audience as harsh judge Simon Cowell is a surprise.

Carrie’s choice of emoji indicates that she was shocked, flustered, or even embarrassed by the boos. However, her reaction during the American Idol season 24 Hollywood Week preview also showed that she loved it.

The American Idol Season 24 Hollywood Week Preview Shows Carrie Being Booed

At the end of the final American Idol season 24 audition episode, a preview for Hollywood Week was shown. In the teaser, host Ryan Seacrest revealed that the contestants would have one song to prove that they deserved to advance to the next round of the competition. Carrie was shown telling a contestant, “I’m not sure that was the right song,” after which the crowd booed her.

Carrie responded to the boos by shouting, “Bring it on! I love it! Your boos are feeding me!” Later in the preview, Luke lamented, “It’s so hard having to cut this many, y’all.” Carrie added, “Oh, Lord have mercy. I just wanted to come and sit and listen to people.” Lionel replied, “But you’re the butcher now.” It was surprising to watch Carrie being jeered at, but even more shocking to see her reacting to the crowd in such a bold way.

It was also refreshing to see that Carrie seems to be settling into being an American Idol judge and becoming more comfortable giving the contestants negative feedback when necessary. Of course, this doesn’t mean that she’ll be mean, because it’s hard to imagine that sweet Carrie would ever have a harsh word for anyone. However, her job is to judge, not to coddle, and it’s time for her to step up and do that. American Idol Hollywood Week is notoriously taxing for the contestants, and it seems as though it was challenging for Carrie as well, but the show will be better for it.

Source: Carrie Underwood/X

Release Date

2002 – 2016-00-00

Network

ABC

Showrunner

Nigel Lythgoe

Directors

Ken Warwick

Franchise(s)

American Idol