Today is
Saturday March 08, 2025
Many American Idol alumni have appeared on the show over the years as mentors or performers, but when the show returns Sunday night on ABC, Carrie Underwood will be accomplishing a first: She's the first Idol winner ever to become a judge, which gives her a special insight into how the contestants are feeling.
"I hope I can bring a different perspective to this show," Carrie says. "I know what it's like to be there."
As she notes, "I know what they're going through, and I know what it's like to be standing up there thinking, like, 'What song am I supposed to be singing? I don't know.' And having judges say, 'That just wasn't the right song for you.' And you're like, 'I don't know what that means!'"
Host Ryan Seacrest, who crowned Carrie the champ in 2005, tells ABC Audio, "It's like being at home with Carrie. ... She's been just a natural at being behind that desk. And the contestants are very excited to see her and they're inspired by her."
But fellow judge Luke Bryan tells ABC Audio that Carrie "had a little bit of a learning situation on really saying no to kids because she's such a sweet, kind soul ... it's tough to sit there and tell some kid no that they can't go to Hollywood."
For judge Lionel Richie, making it to Hollywood is a win in itself.
"When we say, 'You're going to Hollywood,' that door opens ... mothers are crying. Brothers and sisters are crying," he says. "As I try to tell the kids on the show, forget about winning. ... This is a moment when your family can actually say, 'God, we're so proud of you.' And for that brief moment, you've won American Idol."
Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
Keanu Reeves wants his new Roku docuseries Visionaries to make you go "Woah."
Described as a "search for inspiration," it stars Reeves and Gard Hollinger — his partner in ARCH, the motorcycle company they co-founded in 2011 — meeting creatives breaking new ground in science, fine art, fashion, architecture and more.
"In some cases, either Keanu or I had some awareness of who these people were or somebody we knew did. And then, in many cases, research brought us people we thought were interesting," Hollinger says of selecting creators for the show.
"It was also part of the early investigation of, like, what would we be interested in?" Reeves adds. "So it was like tech, the arts, architecture, creativity. I mean, the thing was just creativity."
"Hopefully people enjoy this show ... and we get to continue to tell and introduce and spend time with more people," Reeves says of additional seasons. Hollinger hopes the show "inspires some people to pursue their own creativity."
But with his day job as a movie star, how does Reeves fit in his work with ARCH and now this new series? "I don't know the 'day job' aspect of it," he laughs. "I would say that this is part of the day job, too, and I'm really lucky to have this day job and I love it and I give it my all."
And Reeves managed to add yet another line to his IMDB profile, making an uncredited appearance in the season 2 premiere of Apple TV+'s Severance as the voice of the office building the characters work in.
"It came out of the blue from [Severance creator] Ben Stiller," says Reeves. "I guess he just had this vision of me performing that voice-over. And I was really glad he invited me. It was fun."
Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
Karla Sofía Gascón, the controversial Oscar-nominated Emilia Pérez star, has given special thanks on social media to Madonna.
Gascón, the first openly transgender actress to be nominated for the Academy Award for best actress, caused a firestorm of controversy in January after old tweets of hers that contained bigoted speech against marginalized communities surfaced. She was dropped from the Emilia Pérez Oscar campaign and its director disavowed her; however, she did attend the Oscars ceremony March 2.
On Wednesday Gascon shared an Instagram Story of a black-and-white photo of Madonna embracing her. She captioned it, "Madonna, I want to thank you for all the love you have shown me, for your invitation to the party you gave after the Oscars and for your words of love and strength. I love you."
Madonna had previously stated that Emilia Pérez was her favorite movie of the year, and posted a photo of herself holding director Jacques Audiard's Oscar, with Audiard next to her.
Gascón said in an interview in October that Madonna attended the premiere of Emilia Perez and it made her cry. "She told me, 'You're amazing!' She was crying and crying," Gascón recalled. "I said, 'Madonna, please. It's only a film. Be happy!'"
Gascón added in her Story Wednesday that she wanted to thank "all my fellow Hollywood professionals who expressed support and admiration for me that night, both at the gala and at the party."
Gascón lost the best actress Oscar to Anora star Mikey Madison, but her co-star Zoe Saldaña won the best supporting actress trophy.
Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
