WATCH: Carrie Underwood Left Clueless as Brad Paisley Recruits Luke Bryan for Epic ‘American Idol’ Prank
The biggest surprise of the ‘Idol’ premiere came from Paisley, who showed up to prank the judges.
Luke Bryan, Carrie Underwood, Brad Paisley, Lionel Richie; Photo by Disney/Eric McCandless
Country music fans watching American Idol were stunned during Monday’s premiere when another country star showed up: Brad Paisley, who was there to pull off an epic prank.
Paisley was backstage without Carrie Underwood or Lionel Richie knowing. He pulled Luke Bryan away from the judges’ panel and recruited him as his partner in crime.
Bryan left the panel under the pretense of using the restroom, but instead met with producers and Paisley to plot a way to derail the audition. Their plan: bring in Dylan Holmes as a planted “contestant” and feed Luke what to say through an earpiece.
When Bryan returned, he immediately started questioning Underwood’s workout routine, asking how much she could bench press, just as Paisley instructed. Then, as Holmes began to sing, Luke abruptly yelled, “PASS!”
Paisley then egged him on to insult Holmes’ home state, prompting Luke to shout, “I can’t stand Michigan,” and later take a jab at Illinois.
Underwood seemed completely unaware of the setup, joking that Bryan must’ve taken a shot during his bathroom break.
Finally, Luke said the safe word (“hot chicken”) and Paisley walked out, revealing the prank.
“You wanna hear something great? I didn’t think anything was wrong,” Underwood laughed, saying Luke’s weird remarks are pretty much to be expected.
Fans thoroughly enjoyed the Paisley prank as viewers took to social media to react.
“Loved this. Love seeing Brad on the show. Brad and Carrie are an iconic country duo,” one viewer shared.
Another wrote, “I love it. Carrie’s been around them boys too long lol, she didn’t think anything about it, other than Luke could not tour in 2 states.”
The American Idol premiere showcased a slew of incredible talent, with contestants like Khloe Grace, Jayson Arendt, and Lucas Leon earning golden tickets to Hollywood week, which will take place in Nashville this season for the first time ever.
The next wave of Idol auditions will air on Monday, Feb. 2 on ABC and stream the next day on Hulu.
Lauren Jo Black, a University of Central Florida graduate, has immersed herself in the world of country music for over 15 years. In 2008, she co-founded CountryMusicIsLove, eventually selling it to a major record label in 2015. Following the rebranding of the website to Sounds Like Nashville, Black served as Editor-in-Chief for two and a half years. Currently, she assumes the role of Editor-in-Chief at Country Now and oversees Country Now’s content and digital footprint. Her extensive experience also encompasses her previous role as a Country Music Expert Writer for Answers.com and her work being featured on Forbes.com. She’s been spotlighted among Country Aircheck’s Women of Influence and received the 2012 Rising Star Award from the University of Central Florida. Black also spent time in front of the camera as host of Country Now Live, which brought live music directly to fans in 2021 when the majority of concerts were halted due to the pandemic. During this time, she hosted 24 weeks of live concerts via Country Now Live on Twitch with special guests such as Lady A, Dierks Bentley, Jordan Davis, Brett Young, and Jon Pardi. Over the course of her career, she has had the privilege of conducting interviews with some of the industry’s most prominent stars, including Reba McEntire, Blake Shelton, Luke Combs, Carrie Underwood, Luke Bryan, Miranda Lambert, Lainey Wilson, and many others. Lauren Jo Black is a longtime member of the Country Music Association and the Academy of Country Music.
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