Eventually, ABC can drop the date for their season 23 premiere any day now. Now that Carrie Underwood is finally under contract to replace Katy Perry, everything is in place for a banner year for the show. Particularly, country fans should feel especially confident for plenty of representation for the genre. However, what's the relationship like between all three of the judges? What do Luke Bryan and Lionel Ritchie think of Carrie Underwood? Are they ready to dive into the new season? Apparently, there isn't much there at all. Moreover, they aren't even in a group chat!
Recently, Luke Bryan sits down with the folks at Taste of Country to talk all things American Idol. There, they talk about the infamous text threads between the judges. Now that Katy Perry is out of the way, did Bryan and Lionel Ritchie make a new group chat with Carrie? I guess not! "Me and Lionel and Carrie Underwood haven't built our American Idol thread yet," he says. "I still have me and Katy and Lionel, still have me and Katy and Lionel and Ryan."
Luke Bryan and Lionel Ritchie Still Haven't Secured Carrie Underwood for Their Group Chat
Thankfully, the remaining crew are about to make the efforts necessary to secure her phone number. Once they lock in more and more, the ball will be in Carrie's court. "We gotta get the, me, Carrie and Lionel now, so we're working on that," Luke says. "We'll have to go to dinner in a couple of weeks, we'll see how quick Carrie is to accept giving her phone number to me and Lionel. So we'll see."
As for Carrie, she's still trying to figure out what her judging style is going to be next to Luke Bryan and Lionel Ritchie. She doesn't want to be the hardened voice of the crew but she doesn't want to be too easy on everyone either. As a former winner on the show, she wants to pick people who could really be the best. "I think I can be honest and constructive, but still kind," she explains. "I think that's the whole point 'cause people are coming in, and you know ... it's dreams. You're a part of somebody's story from that moment on. I think it's important to be honest, but I think it's also very important to be kind. Hopefully, I can marry all of those together."
