Carrie Underwood‘s first season as an American Idol judge ended without a commitment for another.

Naturally, fans want to know if she’ll return for Season 24.

• Carrie Underwood won Season 4 of American Idol in 2005.
• Throughout Season 23, she leaned into flashbacks from her season as a contestant.
• The 42-year-old admitted she was nervous at times, but people attached to the show say she found her own lane.

This conversation about if Underwood will return to judge American Idol for a second season as a judge will include what people are saying on and off the record, and what she’s said about her time on the show. We’ll also include important context for how these decisions are typically made, and when.

Why Carrie Underwood Wouldn’t Return to American Idol

If Underwood doesn’t return, she’d become just the fourth judge in the show’s history to be one and done. The others had strong reasons for not coming back: Nicki Minaj and Mariah Carey didn’t really get along, and Ellen DeGeneres hated it, calling her season one of the worst decisions she’s ever made.

Underwood got along with her panel (Luke Bryan and Lionel Richie) and eased into offering criticism of contestants. Still, there are two plausible reasons she might not want to return.

The first is family. Her husband and two boys are in Nashville, and the show films in L.A. So, she’s gone a lot and missing a lot. Of course she’s used to this as a touring musician, but since having kids she’s confined her tour schedule to a season every couple of years.

Which brings us to the second reason: Her career. If Carrie is planning her first tour since 2023, she might not want to do both. The dates could conflict, or maybe she simply doesn’t feel she can give full focus to two very different professional concepts.

One hint to how she thinks of this balance is her lack of major career announcements during the final weeks of American Idol. There is no new album or tour coming in 2025 — she passed on making use of a big stage to promote one.

Why Carrie Underwood Would Return to American Idol

There are more than two reasons why Carrie Underwood would return to American Idol. The first is that she gets several million dollars for relatively little work. The majority of the show is pre-recorded in the weeks and months before it debuts. This year, there were just five weeks of live shows, with episodes airing on Sunday and Monday nights.

This means she could leave Sunday morning and be home in time to send the kids to school on Tuesday. Not too bad, right?

Executive producer Megan Michaels Wolflick was very enthusiastic about keeping this panel together for Season 24. Talking to TVLine, she gave Underwood high praise.

“I thought she was exceptional,” she says. “You never know what a person is going to be when they come behind the desk. It’s that person’s job to carve out his or her role and be their own person. You’re not just subbing for someone else.”

Underwood, Michaels Wolflick says, was able to carve out a unique role. In the same article, Bryan and Richie gushed over her growth throughout the season.

“She doesn’t fit in — she belongs,” Richie says.

Final Verdict: Is Carrie Underwood Going to Return to American Idol?

Officially, Underwood is being coy. ET pressed, and she said there’s a lot to consider and that she had a lot of fun.

The U.S. Sun also sourced anonymous sources who claim she’s on the fence, but the article doesn’t fee like one you should lean on as much as it dos a contract ploy.

Traditionally, this is negotiation season. For years media would ask Bryan if he was returning and he’d avoid an answer until the time was right to reveal he was indeed coming back. No one is going to give any single news outlet that kind of scoop, because the news is so valuable in pre-promoting an upcoming season.

Last year, American Idol judges were announced in August. Expect the same for Season 24. We’ll stop short of saying Underwood will return, but we will point out she’s following the same script of every judge who’s returned to the desk over the last decade.