The American Idol Season 24 premiere delivered plenty of standout auditions, but the night’s biggest surprise didn’t come from a contestant at all. Instead, country superstar Brad Paisley quietly slipped backstage and pulled off one of the most memorable pranks the show has seen — with Luke Bryan fully in on the joke and everyone else completely confused.
Unbeknownst to Carrie Underwood and Lionel Richie, Paisley was hiding behind the scenes as auditions got underway. He discreetly pulled Bryan away from the judges’ table under the excuse of a bathroom break, but the detour turned into a full-on prank planning session with producers. The mission? Sabotage the next audition just enough to make things wonderfully awkward.
The setup involved a planted contestant, Dylan Holmes, and a hidden earpiece feeding Bryan outrageous lines directly from Paisley. When Luke returned to the panel, things immediately felt… off. He began randomly questioning Carrie Underwood about her workout routine, asking how much she could bench press — leaving her visibly puzzled.
Then came the moment that stopped the room. As Holmes began to sing, Bryan suddenly blurted out, “PASS!” before the performance even had a chance to begin. The judges froze. The contestant looked stunned. And the audience could sense something wasn’t adding up.
Paisley wasn’t done yet. Through the earpiece, he encouraged Bryan to take playful jabs at the contestant’s home state. Luke loudly declared he “can’t stand Michigan,” followed by another crack at Illinois, pushing the absurdity even further. Carrie, still unaware of the prank, joked that Bryan must’ve taken shots during his bathroom break.
The chaos finally came to an end when Bryan said the agreed-upon safe word — “hot chicken.” That’s when Paisley emerged from backstage, revealing himself as the mastermind behind the madness. The room erupted in laughter as the truth clicked into place.
In a hilarious twist, Underwood admitted afterward that she didn’t immediately suspect anything at all. “I didn’t think anything was wrong,” she laughed, joking that Luke’s strange behavior didn’t seem that unusual to her.
Fans loved every second of the prank, flooding social media with reactions. Many praised Paisley’s surprise appearance and the long-standing chemistry between him, Bryan, and Underwood. Others joked that Carrie has spent so much time around Luke that nothing fazes her anymore.
While the prank stole the spotlight, the premiere still delivered on talent, with contestants like Khloe Grace, Jayson Arendt, and Lucas Leon earning Golden Tickets to Hollywood Week — which will take place in Nashville for the first time ever.
Between jaw-dropping auditions and a perfectly executed prank, American Idol Season 24 kicked off with energy, humor, and a reminder that anything can happen when country music royalty is involved.
