How Much Will Carrie Underwood Make On “American Idol”?
on Aug 23, 2024
On August 1, 2024, it was announced that Carrie Underwood would join Luke Bryan and Lionel Richie as a judge on American Idol.
Her first season will air 20 years after she won the show, which catapulted her to superstardom.
“From #AmericanIdol hopeful, to global icon…to IDOL judge! Home-grown superstar @carrieunderwood will join us for Season 8!” read American Idol‘s post.
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Host Ryan Seacrest celebrated her return to the show with a post on social media that included two photos of them throughout the years on the Idol stage, one being her crowning moment during Season Four.
His post read, “It’s a full-circle moment to go from announcing you as the winner of @americanidol 20 years ago to now welcoming you to the judge’s table. Welcome home, @carrieunderwood!”
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Underwood also feels like she is going home. In a clip from Good Morning America during her Summer Concert Series, she told hosts Lara Spencer and Sam Champion, “It feels like home.”
Underwood continued, “There’s so many people that even still work on the show that were there when I was a contestant, so I feel like being on both sides of the coin I’ll be able to offer some insight and help.”
The “Good Girl” singer also revealed what type of judge she thinks she will be, as well as something that could work to her disadvantage.
“I do have a big problem, hopefully it’s not a problem,” she explained. “I can’t lie. I just can’t. You can tell. Hopefully I’ll be very honest, but very encouraging.”
With Carrie Underwood joining the ranks, we wondered how much everyone will be making this upcoming season.
How much do the judges on American Idol make?
Before she left the show, Katy Perry was famously making $25 million, compared to the $10 million a season Richie received. Bryan earned a higher paycheck than Richie at $12 million, according to Forbes. According to the Wall Street Journal, host Ryan Seacrest brings home $12 million a season as well.
In an article published on August 22, Life & Style reports that an ABC source revealed that Underwood will be taking a huge pay cut from what Perry was raking in. The publication is reporting that Underwood will be making “easily half” of Perry’s $25 million salary.
Life & Style reported that Perry’s salary was so high because “ABC was asking for a lot of her time away from making music and performing, more time than she had ever given something other than her own pop career.”
The source said that Underwood agreed to a salary around $12.5 million “because she’s been part of the Idol family since its early days and she has a vested interest in the franchise continuing…Another one of Carrie’s strengths is her humility, and Carrie did not need to be offered a Katy-sized salary to come back into the franchise.”
Whatever her salary is, we’re sure it’s going to be a great season, and we can’t wait to watch!
