Luke Bryan enlisted Brad Paisley to help prank his fellow American Idol judges Lionel Richie and Carrie Underwood during the season 24 premiere of the popular singing competition show on Monday evening (Jan. 26).
It all began after Jesse Findling’s Idol audition when Bryan pretended like he needed a quick bathroom break, telling his fellow Idol judges, “I’m hitting the restroom.” As he went to the men’s room, Underwood looked around the audition room and noticed that the Idol hopefuls were performing in the Brad Paisley and Kimberly Williams Paisley Ballroom inside Belmont University’s Fisher Center for the Performing Arts. “We’re in your ballroom, Paisley,” she said, unbeknownst to her that he and Bryan were just around the corner in another room, preparing to prank her and Richie.
“I can’t wait to ruin this whole show. This is going to be so much fun,” Brad Paisley said.
Idol host Ryan Seacrest then asked Paisley, “Now, you are going to wind Luke up a little bit to get Carrie, right?” The producers of the show then gave Bryan earpieces that he put in, which Paisley had full control over to instruct Bryan what to do and say.
In addition to Paisley, Bryan enlisted a fake Idol contestant named Dylan Holmes, so that the prank didn’t ruin a real audition. “We’re not ruining someone’s audition, so you can really have some fun with it,” Seacrest added.
Before Luke Bryan made his way back to the star-studded Idol judges panel, Seacrest asked the “Word On The Street” singer if he’d like a “safe word” to say to halt the prank. Bryan quickly said “yes” and asked for the safe word to be “hot chicken.”
“Don’t chicken out. Don’t hot chicken out,” Paisley joked.
The prank started immediately after Bryan returned to his seat, with Paisley asking him to turn to Carrie Underwood and asked her, “Hey Carrie, how much do you think I can bench press?” to which he obliged.
“I don’t know. What kind of question is that?” Underwood, visibly confused, replied. Bryan then said, “165, Carrie. What are you benching these days?”
Underwood, a known fitness guru and owner of the Fit52 workout app, said, “I don’t know.” Bryan then questioned her, “Why don’t you know these things? You’re in all these fitness ads.”
“I am, but I’m not looking for personal records,” the “Before He Cheats” singer said with an attitude.
The fake contestant, named Dylan Holmes, then entered the room for their audition. Luke Bryan interrupted Holmes when he said he was from Michigan, stating, “I can’t stand Michigan.”
Lionel Richie was shocked by Bryan’s comment, threw his pen and shouted, “Oh, that’s it. I’m out of here. We just lost all of Michigan.” Bryan added that he also isn’t a fan of Illinois.
“What is happening? Well there are two states. You can only tour in 48 states now. Did you go take shots on your bathroom break?” Underwood said in a state of shock.
Dylan Holmes went on to showcase his vocals talents during the fake audition with a performance of “Wondering Why” by the Red Clay Strays. “Let’s see what you got!” Bryan said, before shouting “pass” right as he started to strum the acoustic guitar without even singing a single note.
Underwood declared, “can you just let the poor boy sing?” Bryan replied, “sing a Lionel Richie song,” suggesting “We Are The World.”
“Somebody come get Luke!” Richie shouted.
While Holmes performed, Bryan turned to Underwood and told her, “I’m benching 175 tomorrow.” Luke Bryan then made the decision to stop the prank, saying, “I need more hot chicken. I need more hot chicken out of you.”
Paisley, in another room off camera, told producers, “He’s doing a hot chicken reference, which is his bail.”
“Carrie, guess what? My physical trainers here… the sexiest trainer I’ve ever seen, and this trainer’s been telling me everything to say, this whole audition,” Bryan admitted as Brad Paisley walked into the room, revealing the prank to Underwood and Richie.
Underwood then came to the realization that Bryan was gone for more time than just a bathroom break. “Is that where you were when you went to the bathroom? What is happening? You were gone for like 20 minutes. Is that why we started hating on Michigan?” Underwood stated.
Paisley told Richie and Underwood, “Yes, well I was just telling him what to say. We really like Michigan, by the way.”
Before cutting to a commercial break, Underwood laughed and concluded, “hey, you want to hear something great? I didn’t think anything was wrong.” Seacrest then added, “business as usual.”