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.