How Katy Perry Really Feels About Carrie Underwood Joining American Idol After Her Departure (Exclusive)

Katy Perry is leaving American Idol in good hands.

After the “Dark Horse” singer announced that season 22 of the singing competition show would be her last in February 2024, fans wondered who would replace her at the judge’s table. Then, in August, Carrie Underwood announced her return to the show — but this time as a judge.

“She was born on that show. I think she knows how to steer it,” Perry — who recently announced her Lifetimes Tour — tells PEOPLE of the “Before He Cheats” singer.

The “Hot N Cold” performer, 40, adds, “She actually truly knows… What it feels like to be in their shoes. We could only metaphorically feel that as judges.”

Underwood won the fourth season of the singing competition show in 2005. Now, 20 years later, she’ll be sitting at the judges table with Luke Bryan and Lionel Richie.

“As artists, we’ve been in some sort of their shoes, but she has lived every single day,” the “Firework” singer says. “So I think she’s going to have a lot to offer anyone that’s willing to listen.”

Perry announced her decision to leave the show during an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live in February 2024. At the time, she explained that it was her time to move on and teased new music on the way.

“I think this probably will be my last show, my last season for Idol. I mean I love Idol so much. It’s connected me with the heart of America, but I feel like I need to go out and feel that pulse to my own beat, you what I’m saying Jimmy?”

“I love the show so much but I wanna go and see the world and maybe bring new music,” Perry added.

Shortly after her announcement, the “Hello” singer, 75, also appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live and shared that he wasn’t “mad” about Perry’s decision.

“The reason I love coming on the show with you and the reason I’m doing American Idol is because I have 400 years of stories and a life in the music business. I have things that I’ve done. And so when Katy says, ‘I want to go and create some stories,’ remember, she’s young. But the point is that you have to take some time and actually be an artist,” he said, adding that it “makes sense.”

Meanwhile, in an April 2024 interview on the radio show Taste of Country Nights, Bryan, 48, admitted he “had heard whispers that she was thinking about it — it wasn’t like a huge shock.”

“It’s been a good run with Katy, and she and I have developed a great friendship and to work alongside her,” he said.

He also noted that he and the “Teenage Dream” singer plan to stay in touch after Idol is over. “She knows that no matter what her next endeavors are, that she can pick up the phone and call me and check in and say hey,” Bryan said, adding that she can even come to him for “fishing advice.”