EXCLUSIVE: Carrie Underwood is gearing up to take fans on a nostalgic ride back to her American Idol roots before she steps into her new role as a judge. The superstar is set to headline a fresh webseries called From Idol to Legend, launching on YouTube starting March 4 as a special tie-in to the ABC hit.
This comes just before Season 23 of American Idol—its eighth chapter on ABC—kicks off on Sunday, March 9, with a sneak peek airing right after the Oscars on March 2.
Underwood’s 2025 has already been a whirlwind. Beyond filling Katy Perry’s shoes on the Idol panel, the eight-time Grammy champ belted out “America the Beautiful” at Donald Trump’s inauguration, powering through some sound hiccups with grit and grace.
From Idol to Legend will unfold across the season, with each episode diving into a different stage of the competition, syncing up with the current Idol episodes. The finale will revisit Underwood’s own crowning moment from 2005. She’ll pull back the curtain on that breakout year, sharing never-before-heard snippets from the journal she kept during her Idol run. Expect throwbacks to her iconic outfits, candid behind-the-scenes stories, and a look at the journey that launched her two decades ago.
Joining her on the Idol judging table are veterans Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan, with Ryan Seacrest back as host.
Underwood, whose record sales hover around 85 million, is often hailed as the show’s brightest success story. She first stepped into the spotlight on Fox’s Idol, wowing with Bonnie Raitt’s “I Can’t Make You Love Me” at her audition. Her knockout take on “Alone” is still credited as a game-changer in her victory.
The webseries is a joint effort from Fremantle and 19 Entertainment, promising a front-row seat to Underwood’s rise from small-town dreamer to global icon.
