Find out if American Idol's Carrie Underwood, Luke Bryan and Lionel Richie's will return as judges for season 24 of the ABC singing competition series, set to premiere in 2026.

The original American Idol judges Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson at the Fox 2002 SummerTCA Tour the year the show launched. Known for his blunt critiques and brutal honestly, Simon Cowell remained until Season 9. Abdul appeared on Seasons 1-8 before moving on to judge on The X Factor.

American Idol will enter its 24th season in 2026, and ushering it in are Carrie Underwood, Luke Bryan, and Lionel Richie, who will return as judges. While Bryan and Richie have worked together as judges on the famed singing competition since 2018,