AMERICAN Idol judge Carrie Underwood was seen breaking down in tears in a teaser clip for the new series.

Twenty years after winning the singing competition, country superstar Carrie, 41, will be making a return to the show that made her famous.

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Carrie Underwood broke down in tears on American IdolCredit: INSTAGRAM/ABC

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Luke Bryant consoled his fellow judge in the sneak peekCredit: INSTAGRAM/ABC
And in a teaser clip ahead of the new series airing, the former Idol winner was seen weeping and declaring “I’m not okay” as fellow judge Luke Bryan consoled her.

In the clip, the judges can be seen on the panel discussing how they were in Nashville for a round of auditions.

Mrs. Davis, a high school English teacher then walked into the audition room and declared how it was not her who would be auditioning.

She explained how one of her students, Slater Nalley, wrote a song for her son Carter who was killed several years ago – and he wanted to perform it for his audition.

Slater then arrived in the audition room and was told he had the “coolest introduction ever” because of his teacher.

The young singer told how he “didn’t know Carter” but after learning about him, he felt a presence come into his life.

“I knew I needed to do something,” he said.

He then revealed that the song he had written was called Traces of You for Carter Davis.

“It captured Carter,” the teacher gushed, touching on how there was “light and hope” within the song.

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Carrie broke down over an emotional performanceCredit: INSTAGRAM/ABC

EMOTIONAL PERFORMANCE

Slater then performed the song he had written, strumming his guitar and performing a smooth acoustic rendition of the moving tune.

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Crooning lyrics like “your life was like a river running home” and “the boy whose eyes flickered like the light before it goes.”

He also sang “in the dark nights you always found the sun” and “one look at you I’d just come undone” and “now you visit me in shadows.”

“Somewhere past the sky I can feel you dancing in the air,” he went on to croon.

Carrie could be seen getting teary throughout the performance, and at the end her emotions truly overflew as she said she was not okay.

 

Who are the past American Idol winners?

 

The previous American Idol winners include:

Kelly Clarkson (2002)

Ruben Studdard (2003)

Fantasia Barrino (2004)

Carrie Underwood (2005)

Taylor Hicks (2006)

Jordin Sparks (2007)

David Cook (2008)

Kris Allen (2009)

Lee DeWyze (2010)

Scotty McCreery (2011)

Phillip Phillips (2012)

Candice Glover (2013)

Caleb Johnson (2014)

Nick Fradiani (2015)

Trent Harmon (2016)

Maddie Poppe (2018)

Laine Hardy (2019)

Just Sam (2020)

Chayce Beckham (2021)

Noah Thompson (2022)

Iam Tongi (2023)

“I couldn’t have imagined you doing that any better,” she said.

Lionel then praised Slater for the lyric “like a river running home,” saying, “You got the blues, man.”

RIVAL TALENT SHOW CROSSOVER

This comes after a former The Voice star revealed he would be taking part in the new season of Idol five years after starring on the rival talent show.

Thunderstorm Artis, 29, shot to fame on The Voice five years ago when he placed second on the hit talent show.

Taking to Instagram earlier this month, Thunderstorm shared how he will be returning to television very soon.

On February 8, Thunderstorm shared how he would be auditioning for American Idol.

Sharing a post online, Thunderstorm shared a snap which showed him, his wife Faith and their baby in front of giant letters that spelled out Idol.

The caption read: “Well I guess I should let this cat out of the bag… Tune in March 9th to see if I made it through my audition on American Idol.”

INAUGURATION DRAMA

The country singer has remained silent after her controversial appearance at President Donald Trump’s inauguration.

Those in Carrie’s circle revealed she is “frustrated” with how the performance went, The U.S. Sun previously reported.

“Her keeping quiet is an indicator things did not go well for her, not how she wanted.

“Reports of her having a ‘hissy fit’ isn’t true though, she isn’t a toddler but she was and is frustrated,” the insider said.

The source claimed, “How the performance was pitched to her and how it ended up going were two very different experiences.

“Most of that had to do with the event being moved indoors which decreased the guest list and how many people she could bring with her – something she was not happy about.

“She’s proud of herself for how she handled such a chaotic situation but I think she’s second-guessing this whole thing and wondering if it was worth it.

“For both herself and her family who she’s fiercely protective of and tries to keep more private.”

The U.S. Sun also reported the performance put the American Idol team in a “stressful” position

“The show just wants to stay away from anything political so this turning into such a big, worldwide topic of conversation is not what [the producers] wanted heading into the start of the season.

“The situation has become too big and out of anyone’s control now which is a stressful position to be in while trying to promote a family-friendly, politically neutral show.

“While I know people wish the show wasn’t involved, they are proud of how Carrie handled herself in what I’m sure was a stressful moment but this is basically worst-case scenario.

“In terms of the amount of attention it’s gotten and Idol being brought into the political conversation,” a source claimed.

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Carrie Underwood performing at President Donald Trump’s inaugurationCredit: AFP

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The new season of American Idol premieres on March 9Credit: Getty