Because Carrie is known for her sweet and reserved demeanor, fans wondered what kind of American Idol judge she’d be. While she proved to be just as entertaining, silly, and funny as Katy, like Lionel and Luke, she didn’t provide much constructive feedback to the contestants throughout the competition, acting more like a cheerleader rather than a judge.

Carrie received a lot of criticism for this throughout American Idol season 23, but, when she finally did assert herself during the Top 5 episode, fans were outraged. Although Carrie probably didn’t enjoy being cast as the villain that week, perhaps it’s a path she should take as she moves forward with another season.

Carrie Underwood Was Criticized For Being Hard On Jamal Roberts During His Top 5 Performance

During the American Idol season 23 Top 5 episode, fans lashed out at Carrie after her critique of Jamal’s “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough.” She told him that, although his voice was incredible, he missed an opportunity to move around and entertain. Carrie added that he needed to pull out all the stops and put 100% of himself into his performances.

Carrie Should’ve Been More Critical Throughout Her First American Idol Season

Part of the reason that Carrie’s critique of Jamal was so jarring was because she hadn’t really said anything negative towards most of the contestants all season. If she had been more critical from the start towards all of the contestants, then perhaps her feedback wouldn’t have been met with so much pushback.

As a former contestant, Carrie brings a unique perspective to the judging panel. It causes inner conflict for her because, on the one hand, she wants to be honest with the contestants, but, on the other, she doesn’t want to crush their dreams.

Carrie knows how it feels to be criticized on national television, so she identifies with the contestants on a whole different level. In fact, Carrie was critiqued by the notoriously harsh American Idol judge, Simon Cowell, so she had even more of a challenge when it came to impressing him.

Carrie Should Become The Harsh Judge

The problem with Carrie’s feedback towards Jamal was that it seemed unfair because she hadn’t given it to everyone else throughout the season. If Carrie applied the same level of scrutiny to every contestant from the beginning, she could be taken seriously as a judge.

Carrie could be picky without being mean, which would mean that she’d hold everyone to a very high standard, but she wouldn’t hurt the contestants’ feelings. This would balance out the niceness of Lionel and Luke, who almost never have anything negative to say about the competitors’ performances.

Carrie definitely has the music industry and American Idol experience to be taken seriously as the hard-to-please judge, along with the personality to deliver negative feedback gently. This would help the contestants to improve. Carrie should consider continuing to give critiques like the one she gave Jamal to all of the contestants, and make being hard to impress her season 24 personality. This way, like Simon, when Carrie gives a standing ovation, it’ll truly mean something.