Luke Bryan is enjoying his eighth season as a judge on American Idol. But in spite of his longevity, there is one part of his job that still makes him incredibly anxious, year after year.
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"My biggest anxiety is, did we did we send the right kids through?" Bryan admits on Good Mythical Morning.
One thing Bryan has learned is to let the aspiring singers down easy, when they don't earn the coveted gold ticket to Hollywood.
"I've kind of gotten good over the years to really try to handle the kids, where you don't really feel like you beat them up too bad," Bryan shares. "You don't ever want to tell somebody something that throws a roadblock in their potential dreams. Because you still don't know how driven they can be, and they may go turn their career into something special."
Season 23 of 'American Idol'
The new season of American Idol marks a new first for the reality TV talent show. For the first time ever, a former contestant will return to judge, with Carrie Underwood joining the show. Underwood famously won Season 4, and is now returning to sit alongside Bryan and Lionel Richie in one of the three judge's chairs. Underwood fills the spot left vacant when Katy Perry exited the show after last season.
"It's going great," Bryan tells Extra. "Carrie and I had always been in the business together, but we never spent much time together, so to sit behind the desk and watch her really learn how to transition out of being the winner of American Idol and a superstar to being the judge at the table... she's doing good."
Bryan isn't the only one welcoming Underwood to the table. Richie also expressed his excitement that the country music superstar is now part of the reality TV talent show.
"I want Carrie to come in and find her person out there, her person," Richie says. "I'm very happy they got Carrie, because... we want someone who is going to bring their light to the table."
"Carrie understands this better than anyone. She came from here. This is where she started... Her addition to this show is going to be amazing. She knows exactly what this navigation is all about... She'll be able to mentor all the way through and even to the point of the winners."
Season 23 of American Idol premieres on Sunday, March 9, at 8:00 p.m. ET on ABC.
