Even if you have never watched American Idol, you will get this one.
In a new Season 24 audition sneak peek, a contestant explains that his students walk around all day chanting one thing: “6…7… 6…7…” You can almost feel every adult in the room twitch.
Carrie Underwood does not miss a beat. As a mom of two boys, she knows this kind of thing is what slowly breaks a person. So she leans in with the most “cool mom / uncool to teens” answer ever and says, “I have the cure.”
Her solution? Every time the kids say “6-7,” the adults answer with “5-3-0-9.”
It is a total mom move. She is turning a TikTok trend into an old-school phone number from the 1981 song “867-5309/Jenny.” In other words: if Gen Z turns up with a chant, Carrie is going to drown it in classic rock until it stops being cool.
New ‘American Idol’ Season 24 Sneak Peek Reveals Carrie Underwood’s Reaction to Viral Trend
Behind the jokes, she is a former winner who remembers exactly how scary it feels to stand in front of that panel and wait for an answer. In this backstage interview from the audition set, Carrie opens up about how hard it is to say no, while Luke Bryan and Lionel Richie show the easy chemistry that keeps the panel grounded and supportive.
Carrie Underwood Admits It’s Tough Saying NO as ‘American Idol’ Judge (Exclusive)
Long before she was the calm, confident voice at the table, she was the nervous country girl walking into that same room, seeing the judges as “mythical creatures” and hoping her life would change. In this companion piece, Carrie looks back at her original audition, reacts to her younger self, and even reads from the old journal she kept during Season 4.