Grand Ole Opry announcer Kelly Sutton to be on 'American Idol'

One of Nashville's own will appear on "American Idol." Kelly Sutton hosted the Fox 17 morning show in Nashville for 12 years and co-hosted Channel 4's midday show for four years. These days, Sutton is a Grand Ole Opry live show announcer, a WSM-AM morning show sidekick, a national Amazon Music country channel host, a podcaster, and an actor.

Add to that list "music industry tastemaker" for the March 9 episode of ABC's "American Idol," which features two of her longtime friends, country stars Carrie Underwood and Luke Bryan, as judges.

For years, Sutton has been on ABC Country Music Association awards specials as an industry insider. She has interviewed every country music star and celebrity in Nashville you can think of. Literally. Her next move? Reality TV. The top 30 idol contestants will perform for Sutton and seven fellow tastemakers, who will eliminate 10 contestants from that pool.

"This was such a thrill!" Sutton said.

"I've been covering 'American Idol' since Season 1, so to get to be a part of the tastemaker industry panel was really full circle for me. The contestants are so insanely talented this year! I know now how tough it is for Carrie, Luke and Lionel [Richie] to make those early cuts."

The episode airs locally at 7 p.m. March 9 on News 2.

Reach Brad Schmitt at brad@tennessean.com .

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Opry announcer Kelly Sutton to appear on 'American Idol'