‘American Idol’ Season 24 Premiere Ends With Carrie Underwood in Tears

Carrie Underwood was a puddle of tears by the end of American Idol’s Season 24 premiere.

The long-running singing competition series returned on Monday for its ninth season on ABC, and 24^th overall season.

As per usual, there were some memorable auditions, but it wouldn’t be Idol without some emotional ones as well. The final audition of the night came from 15-year-old Khloe Grace, who performed an original song inspired by Aubreigh Paige Wyatt, a 13-year-old who took her life due to cyberbullying. Although Grace didn’t know Wyatt, she wanted to write the song about bullying and grief after hearing her story, especially knowing that they were around the same age.

Before Grace met with the superstar judges that included Underwood, Lionel Richie, and Luke Bryan, Wyatt’s mother introduced herself, explaining what had happened and revealing that she had yet to meet Wyatt. So it was emotional when Grace saw who was waiting for her on the other side of the doors. When Grace was given the spotlight, she told the judges all about her song and the reason for writing it, before performing it. TVLine even called it one of the most heartbreaking performances in Idol history.

And the judges would probably agree, as everyone was left speechless by the power of the song. Underwood, in particular, was sobbing as she tried to talk. It was an unexpectedly emotional performance, and not surprisingly, Grace was sent through to Hollywood Week. So it should be interesting to see if she’ll be able to keep up emotions and powerful bravado as the season continues.

Underwood joined American Idol as a judge last season, coincidentally 20 years after she won. She replaced Katy Perry, who left to focus on music and other projects. Meanwhile, as Season 24 continues, there will be some big changes coming. Showrunner Megan Michaels Wolflick previously told TV Insider, “We do have some changes. I can’t really get into any details, but we do have some big format changes coming for sure. There are going to be some surprises around every turn for sure.”

There will likely be many more emotional auditions to come, so Carrie Underwood, Lionel Richie, and Luke Bryan should stock up on the tissues. New episodes air on Mondays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC, streaming the next day on Hulu.