3 Country Music A-Listers Have Been ‘American Idol’ Judges

American Idol might not have started out with a ton of country music representation on the judging panel, but the beloved singing competition has embraced the genre more and more over the past decade, even bringing three country music A-listers into the fold as judges.

Keep reading to look back at how Idol‘s country music contingency evolved over the years.

1. Keith Urban

Grammy-winning country artist Keith Urban was the first big country star to join American Idol, taking his seat on the judging panel in Season 12, where he would remain for four seasons before the show came to an end on FOX after Season 15. Urban has since returned to Idol as a guest mentor in the years since it was rebooted on ABC.

“Judging is a weird thing. I like the idea of mentoring, more like a producer than a judge,” Urban told the Arizona Republic in 2016. “But I believe that when I give advice about anything, that’s probably advice I need to hear. So I would sometimes drive home from the set and I’d be thinking about some of the feedback I had given people, thinking, ‘Hmm, I wonder if I do that too.’ … So if it benefited me artistically in any way, it’s probably being more honest with myself about the things I need to work on.”

He continued of his tenure on Idol, “It was so easy, just a really fun summer camp feeling, especially the audition cities. … It felt like a family. A really fun family. So I thought, ‘I’m gonna miss that part of it.’ But it was tempered with a real sense of gratitude that I’d gotten to do it at all. It was a great opportunity to be a part of something that’s historic American pop culture. I got to be in people’s living rooms and give them a chance to get to know me in a different way. And I think it can change the way people hear your music when they get to know you in a different way.”

2. Luke Bryan

Luke Bryan represented for the country fans when American Idol‘s ABC revival debuted the show’s 16th season in 2018. Bryan has sat on the judging panel ever since, starring in eight seasons so far.

In a September 2024 interview with Coyote Country, Bryan revealed he was initially reluctant to join Idol when he was first approached. “My thing was like, ‘Guys, I’m doing stadiums. I’m kinda at the pinnacle of my career, and can American Idol keep that going?’ I certainly didn’t want it to hurt at the time,” the ACM Award winner told the outlet.

“The American Idol brand was kind of roughed up,” Bryan continued. “It wasn’t anybody’s fault. I think it had ran its course and they really had to do some talking to me to get me transitioning to a new form of my career.”

3. Carrie Underwood

Carrie Underwood is the latest country star to join American Idol, replacing Katy Perry on the judging panel in Season 23. The former Idol winner played coy when asked if she would be returning for a second season as a judge following the Season 23 finale, however.

“I had a lot of fun, for sure,” Underwood told E! in May. “I didn’t know how I’d feel about it, [but] Luke and Lionel [Richie], and the crew … the people that work on the show are just so easy to be around.”

When the interviewer suggested that Underwood, Bryan, and Richie should all return next season, the Grammy winner responded, “That would be cool, I think.”