Carrie Underwood is close to becoming a judge on American Idol next season. She would replace Katy Perry, who stepped away from her chair at the end of last season. Carrie Underwood won Season 4 of American Idol in 2005.Perry, Luke Bryan and Lionel Richie have been judges since Season 16 (seven seasons).Underwood has sold over 85 million records and is widely considered to be the first or second most successful artist to have started a career on the show.Deadline all but confirmed the news on Wednesday afternoon (July 31). At about the same time, TMZ had reported that the two sides were close …