As “American Idol” prepared to name the contestant who would round out this season’s top 24, Carrie Underwood got emotional. But the “Idol” judge’s emotions had more to do with the performance she had just heard than it did the pressure of the situation.

As far as returning to American Idol, Underwood also tells Las Vegas Weekly that it's definitely a bit of reunion for her, but she has also loved getting to work with new judges (

Country singer Carrie Underwood took on a new role when she replaced Katy Perry as judge for the 23rd season of American Idol. It was the perfect fit as Carrie has plenty of experience with reality TV singing competition series — she won it once before.