Carrie Underwood 'Cooking Something Up' For Fans as She Returns to 'American Idol'

Superstar country singer Carrie Underwood is back on American Idol as a judge — 20 years after she won season four of the show back in 2005. As they gear up for the live shows to begin on the long-running singer competition, Underwood is preparing to close her Las Vegas residency and teases that she's always "cooking something up" when it comes to her music.

"I’ve got a duet with Cody Johnson, 'I’m Gonna Love You,' which is out now and doing really great for us. I’ve also got a couple of other collaborations in the works, which is always fun for me," Underwood tells Las Vegas Weekly in a new interview. "I’m always cooking something up, that’s a process that is always going on."

Indeed, Underwood was recently joined on stage at her residency by none other than Grammy-nominated rock band Papa Roach, which prompted many of her fans to say the country singer could easily make a crossover into rock.

"I’m convinced Carrie is just a rockstar inside… looking for the album now," wrote one fan in the comments of the viral TikTok of Underwood and Papa Roach's performance.

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 (new since she was on the show) Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan.

"It’s been so fun reuniting with Ryan [Seacrest] and getting to work with Luke [Bryan] and Lionel [Richie]. There are also a lot of folks behind the cameras that were involved with the show 20 years ago when I won the title, so it really is a full-circle moment," says Underwood. "That show was the beginning of everything for me and holds such a special place in my heart, and I love that I’m now able to be a part of someone else’s journey."

Underwood's Las Vegas residency ends with its final performance on Saturday, April 12. American Idol airs Sundays and Mondays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC.