CARRIE Underwood’s American Idol debut has beaten Katy Perry’s last season premiere by over one million viewers, as fans are tuning in to see the country singer.

Carrie, 42, who was the Season 4 winner of American Idol in 2005, returned as a judge alongside Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan.

On March 2, ABC’s American Idol aired a special preview to introduce the new judging panel, as an impressive 5,905,000 viewers tuned in to watch.

The American Idol Season 23 premiere episode on March 9 brought in 4,494,000 viewers.

The Season 22 premiere with Katy, 40, Lionel, 75, and Luke, 48, on February 18, 2024 had 4,620,000 fans tune in.

The special even beat out the Season 22 finale with 5,639,000 viewers.

FAN REACTION

The U.S. Sun previously reported viewers have expressed their preference of Carrie over Katy.

One fan said on X of Carrie’s judging debut, “It was the best first episode ever.”

“Jukebox Carrie Underwood is way better than Katy Perry sorry not sorry,” another commented.

Another praised, “She runs circles around Perry,” as fourth gushed, “I love Carrie Underwood on American Idol.”

Katy announced Season 22 would be her last after seven seasons as a judge.

She left to focus on her music, as she released her album 143 and tour after leaving the singing competition show.

CARRIE’S DEBUT

As judge, Carrie has been brought to tears during her time on the show so far.

Carrie cried when contestant Breanna Nix performed one of her hit songs.

In another scene, the country singer sobbed and admitted, “I’m not okay,” resulting in fellow judge Luke to console her during an audition.

A high school English teacher walked in to reveal her student would be auditioning.

She explained how her student Slater Nalley would be performing a song for her son Carter, who was killed several years ago.

INAGURATION NIGHTMARE

The country singer has remained silent after her controversial appearance at President Donald Trump’s inauguration in January.

Sources close to Carrie revealed she was “frustrated” over how the performance went.

A source previously told The U.S. Sun, “Her keeping quiet is an indicator things did not go well for her, not how she wanted.

“How the performance was pitched to her and how it ended up going were two very different experiences.

“Most of that had to do with the event being moved indoors which decreased the guest list and how many people she could bring with her – something she was not happy about.

“She’s proud of herself for how she handled such a chaotic situation but I think she’s second-guessing this whole thing and wondering if it was worth it.”

The U.S. Sun also reported the performance put the American Idol team in a “stressful” position

A source told The U.S. Sun, “The show just wants to stay away from anything political so this turning into such a big, worldwide topic of conversation is not what [the producers] wanted heading into the start of the season.

“The situation has become too big and out of anyone’s control now which is a stressful position to be in while trying to promote a family-friendly, politically neutral show.

“While I know people wish the show wasn’t involved, they are proud of how Carrie handled herself in what I’m sure was a stressful moment but this is basically worst-case scenario.

“In terms of the amount of attention it’s gotten and Idol being brought into the political conversation,” a source claimed.

TENSION ON SET

The U.S. Sun previously reported the performance even affected Carrie’s behavior on the American Idol set.

“Carrie has been polite but distant from the rest of the crew,” a source claimed.

“Everyone knows Lionel and Luke better, they have been here longer and are closer with the crew.

“Carrie has been very kind to everyone on set but she does seem more reserved.”

Crew members on set were told to “not bring up the inauguration under any circumstances.”

The source continued to allege, “Everyone knows Lionel and Luke better, they have been here longer and are closer with the crew.

“Carrie has been very kind to everyone on set but she does seem more reserved.”

The source then claimed that crew members on set have been told to “not bring up the inauguration under any circumstances” – including directly asking Carrie about it.

“All these things take a toll so producers want to do everything they can to make sure every person on the team feels comfortable and supported,” the insider added.