Ryan Seacrest calls Carrie Underwood's 'American Idol' return a 'full-circle moment'

Ryan Seacrest says he is looking forward to Carrie Underwood's return to " American Idol " as a judge.

"It's a full-circle moment to go from announcing you as the winner of @americanidol 20 years ago to now welcoming you to the judge's table," Seacrest wrote in a sweet message on Instagram . "Welcome home, @carrieunderwood !"

The longtime host of the reality competition show also shared two throwback images of him and Underwood on "American Idol," including a photo from when she won the competition in 2005.

The "Denim & Rhinestones" singer shared Seacrest's post on her Instagram story and wrote, "Thank you Ryan! Excited to be coming back home! ♥️."

On Thursday, it was announced on "Good Morning America" that Underwood would be joining Luke Bryan and Lionel Richie as the newest "American Idol" judge.

She replaces Katy Perry, who served as a judge alongside Bryan and Richie for seven seasons after the "Idol" revival began on ABC in 2018.

"I remember being at home in our little house in Checotah and seeing on TV that there were auditions in St. Louis," the Oklahoma native said in a video shared by "American Idol" on Instagram about the news. "My mom said, 'If you wanna go, I'll drive you.'"

"I went from nobody knowing my name to tens of millions of people watching the show," she added. "I'm proud of everything that I was able to accomplish on the show and I'm so proud of everything that I've accomplished since."