Carrie Underwood Is A Judge On Season 23 Of American Idol
American Idol‘s 23rd season is well underway, and judges Carrie Underwood, Lionel Richie, and Luke Bryan have made incredibly hard decisions to move singers on past Hollywood Week.
Some incredible performances this season have moved Carrie to tears, even though she said she isn’t a crier.

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Canaan James Hill, Slater Nalley, and Bailey Littrell were just some performers who stood out during Hollywood Week.

Breanna Nix And IAMKNOWN Performed “Gratitude” During Hollywood Week

“Gratitude” is a song that Christian artist Brandon Lake released in 2020. It is all about feeling an overwhelming gratitude towards God.

Breanna Nix has been wowing the Idol judges with her soulful voice and her song choices that range from country, to pop, to Christian. During the Monday night (April 7) episode, the remaining contestants had to sing in duos. Nix teamed up with IAMKNOWN, whose real name is Rylie O’Neill, to perform “Gratitude.”

The performance was so incredible that brand-new Artist In Residence Jelly Roll FaceTimed Brandon Lake, who he has a song out with right now, so he could listen to the women sing.

After the performance, Jelly Roll came on stage, apologized for interupting, and then introduced Nix and O’Neill to Lake, who called their duet, “The most gorgeous version of ‘Gratitude’” that he had ever heard.”

Carrie Underwood Got Emotional Talking About Faith

Carrie, a devoted Christian, couldn’t help but get emotional hearing Christian music on a national television show.

“Ladies, Riley, Breanna, I wanna tell you how difficult it is to come into the entertainment industry and bring your faith with you,” she said getting choked up. “It is a brave thing to do because there are a lot of outside forces that are gonna tell you not to do that. I wanna tell you that I’m proud of you guys.”

Her speech so moved Lionel that he rubbed Carrie’s back to show his support for her. It’s clear, this season in particular, that Christian musicians are in every genre. Recently, a contestant shared a video of dozens of Idol contestants worshipping together during Hollywood Week.