Carrie Underwood Reportedly Considered Quitting ‘American Idol’ Until Big Changes Were Made

American Idol bosses have made big behind-the-scenes changes to the new season to accommodate Carrie Underwood., according to a report in the U.S Sun.

The country singer, 42, “struggled” during the her first season as a judge on the ABC series because of fan criticism and “being far from her family,” a source told the outlet for a story published on Monday, January 26.

“There were talks she wanted to quit and not come back when the noise got too loud,” says the source. “They wanted to make sure she felt more comfortable on set this year.”

to that end, added the insider, “There’s been a lot of switch-ups into how they’re making this season. The Hollywood Week was taken out completely to lessen the amount of time Carrie and the judges filmed in Los Angeles. And because it’s her home base and such a good city for music, they filmed in Nashville.”

The Idol season 4 champion — who shares sons Isaiah, 10, and Jacob, 7, with former hockey pro husband Mike Fisher, 45 — was also allowed to bring her whole family to filming in Hawaii, with production at Disney‘s Aulani resort in Oahu extended, the U.S. Sun reported.

As Star previously reported, showrunner and EP Megan Michaels Wolflick had previously hinted at a shake up of the show format and insisted, that the eight-time Grammy winner “is only going to get better. She works her butt off on this show. I’m so proud.”

Ultimately, producers did “everything possible” to keep her happy, the source told the U.S. Sun. “They couldn’t afford to lose her.”

Fellow judges Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan returned to join Underwood on the Monday, January 26 premiere, with Ryan Seacrest back as host.