Carrie Underwood ‘American Idol’ Video Debuts On ‘GMA’; ‘Idol’ Releases Virtual Audition Dates & Cities

Greg Evans
·3 min read

American Idol debuted a new video on GMA today featuring career highlights of new judge Carrie Underwood, who will appear and perform on the ABC morning show Friday.

The video highlights, of course, include plenty of Underwood’s career-making performances on Idol 20 years ago. Watch the video above, and watch today’s GMA segment about Underwood below.

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“Carrie Underwood is the first American Idol alum ever to join the judging panel,” said Megan Wolflick, showrunner and executive producer of American Idol. “Her global superstar status as the most successful Idol winner to date makes her a perfect fit for the show. She embodies the true spirit of Idol as she herself is the definition of the Cinderella story.”

Craig Erwich, president, Disney Television Group, called Underwood’s return “a full-circle moment both for the show and audiences at home who have been tuning in for over two decades. Welcome home, Carrie.”

News of Underwood replacing Katy Perry as an Idol judge broke yesterday. Underwood will sit on the judges panel alongside Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan when the new season kicks off next spring.

Idol producers today also released the audition dates and cities (see the entire list below). Season eight auditions will kick off Monday, Aug. 12, with the return of “Idol Across America,” the live virtual nationwide search taking place across all 50 states plus Washington, D.C. Those auditioning will be given the opportunity to showcase their talents face-to-face with an American Idol producer, from anywhere in America, across any official audition date for a chance to proceed to the judge auditions. Contenders will also be allowed to audition during open call dates, and auditions will be open worldwide to all those eligible.

“Idol Across America” auditions will be held as follows (subject to change):

Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi (Aug 12)
Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas (Aug 14)
Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina (Aug 16)
Alaska, California, Hawaii, Nevada, Washington (Aug 19)
Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania (Aug 21)
Nationwide open call (Aug 23)
Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Wyoming (Aug 26)
Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Wisconsin (Aug 28)
Florida, Michigan, Virginia, West Virginia (Aug 29)
West and Midwest open call (Sep 4)
Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, New Hampshire, Tennessee (Sep 6)
Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, Ohio, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington D.C. (Sep 9)
Nationwide open call (Sep 11)
The South open call (Sep 13)
East Coast open call (Sep 17)

For information on how to sign up for “Idol Across America” and to register to virtually audition in front of an American Idol producer, go here.

American Idol is produced by Fremantle and 19 Entertainment, a part of Sony Pictures Television. Executive producers include Megan Wolflick, also serving as showrunner with Eli Holzman and Aaron Saidman serving as executive producers for 19 Entertainment. Fremantle distributes the series worldwide.

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