Luke Bryan arrives at an “American Idol” Season 22 Top 10 tastemaker event, Monday, April 22, 2024, in Los Angeles. Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP
By EmilyAnn Jackman | [email protected]
So, is Luke Bryan coming back to “American Idol” as a judge or not? Because apparently, he’s asking the same question.
The show is set to return in 2025, but when it comes to the judging lineup — with Lionel Richie also not knowing if he’ll return as a judge — everything is seemingly in the air.
“It’s been something Disney has been really tight-lipped about with me and Lionel [Richie] and Ryan [Seacrest],” the country singer shared in a new interview with Billboard. “We currently haven’t heard what the story is on who’s coming back, and if Lionel and I are coming back.
“I think Disney is just trying to figure out what they want to do and we’re just kind of sitting back and waiting until they decide,” he added.
Bryan, Richie, and Katy Perry have all served as judges since “American Idol” rebooted in 2018.
This comes following Perry’s announcement back in February that she’s exiting “American Idol” after serving as a judge for seven seasons. As of now, no replacement has been announced.
Even though most fans have assumed that Richie and Bryan will maintain their roles when Season 23 begins, it’s a mystery as to who will fill Perry’s shoes, as Bryan named several candidates.
“I think P!nk has been in the talks, Miley Cyrus has been in the talks, Meghan Trainor has been in the talks,” he shared. As for who Perry once suggested, she said the show should add another country singer, and she said she’d like to see Jelly Roll replace her as a full-time judge.
Katy Perry wants Jelly Roll to replace her on ‘American Idol’. The 39-year-old pop star announced she was quitting the hit TV show earlier this year, and Katy is convinced that Jelly would be a perfect addition to the judging panel. Katy – who stars on the show alongside Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan – told E! News: “I gotta say Jelly Roll was crazy when he came on the show. I was convinced at anything he said. He could run for president, he could be my pastor, I might go back to church for him. He could sell me anything. So I love him. And to have any of these guys plus Jelly on the show would be amazing. I love you, Jelly!”
Ultimately, Katy wants a “truth teller” to replace her on the panel. She said: “I want someone that is not afraid to tell the truth in a graceful way.”
Katy actually announced her ‘American Idol’ exit during a TV appearance. The pop star – who joined the ‘American Idol’ judging panel in 2018 – said on ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’: “I think this probably will be my last show, my last season for ‘Idol’. I mean, I love ‘Idol’ so much. It’s connected me with, like, the heart of America, but I feel like I need to go out and feel that pulse to my own beat, you know what I’m saying?”
And following the announcement, Jordin Sparks revealed that she’s keen to replace Katy on the show. The 34-year-old singer took to social media to put her name forward as Katy’s potential successor. Jordin – who won ‘American Idol’ back in 2007 – wrote on X: “Oh hiiii @AmericanIdol —I hear a seat opened up at the judges table! I’m putting my name in the hat! [waving emoji] (sic)”
Katy Perry was in tears when she said “goodbye” to American Idol last month, but today she teased the first single of her post-Idol music career with a celebratory announcement. Perry posted a wild photo of herself as a bikini-clad centauress and revealed the title of her new song, “Woman’s World,” and the date it drops, July 11. The video is due July 12.
Perry’s last studio album was 2020’s Smile. Since then, her only releases have been collaborations with the likes of Swedish DJ Alesso and Thomas Rhett. She is scheduled to perform at Rock in Rio on September 20.
Perry and fellow judges Luke Bryan and Lionel Richie joined American Idol in 2018 when ABC revived the singing competition after fifteen seasons on Fox. Since Season 16, the judge’s panel has remained unchanged until Perry’s departure. ABC has not announced who will take Perry’s spot when the show returns for Season 23.
Perry’s final episode drew an audience of 5.64M, according to live + same-day data. That’s an 8% increase over the week prior, and a season high in total viewers.
Katy Perry thinks a female star should replace her on ‘American Idol’. The 39-year-old singer previously suggested that Jelly Roll should be her replacement on the hit TV show – but on reflection, Katy now believes there should always be a female voice on the ‘American Idol’ panel. Katy – who starred on the TV show alongside Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan – told E! News: “That would be too many men, let’s be honest. But we love Jelly Roll, and I’d love for him to be on this show whenever it’s appropriate.”
Katy also stressed that her replacement needs to be someone who is “honest and bold, not scared of negative comments”. What’s more, the chart-topping singer suggested that she’s faced more scrutiny than her male co-stars. Katy said: “When you have an opinion, when you’re bold, when you’re a female, it just happens.”
In April, Katy actually tipped Jelly as her ideal replacement on the show. The ‘California Gurls’ hitmaker told E! News at the time: “I gotta say Jelly Roll was crazy when he came on the show. I was convinced at anything he said. He could run for president, he could be my pastor, I might go back to church for him. He could sell me anything. So I love him. And to have any of these guys plus Jelly on the show would be amazing. I love you, Jelly!”
But ultimately, Katy wants a “truth teller” to replace her on the ‘American Idol’ panel. The pop star – who quit the TV show earlier this year in order to focus on other career opportunities – said: “I want someone that is not afraid to tell the truth in a graceful way.”
With Katy Perry leaving American Idol as a judge, is there a chance another pop singer will take her spot alongside Luke Bryan and Lionel Richie? Well, fans can unfortunately count one person out, and it’s someone folks would’ve loved to see come full circle on the show.
When Kelly Clarkson attended the 2024 Daytime Emmy Awards on June 7 (she was there to celebrate her daytime series The Kelly Clarkson Show winning three trophies out of eight nominations), she was asked by Entertainment Tonight about the possibility of taking Katy’s place as a judge during the American Idol 2025 season.
Given how the singer and host was the original winner in the show’s inaugural season in 2002, it would’ve made sense for her to have a comeback moment. Alas, Kelly revealed she wasn’t prepared to do it, and it was for once specific reason.
“I can’t do that, only because I promised my kids [River Rose and Remington “Remy” Alexander, whom she shares with ex-husband Brandon Blackstock],” Kelly told the outlet about returning to American Idol as a judge. “It would put me in L.A., and that’s why I had to quit The Voice, which I love that team. I miss them so much.”
As folks know, Kelly made the move from Los Angeles to New York City for The Kelly Clarkson Show season 5 after filming the first four seasons on the West Coast. At the time, she mentioned how she had hopes for a fresh start, along with the fact she’d be closer to her family on the East Coast.
“It’s been a rough few years, and I just needed it. So, I don’t know that I’ve done this show this kind of happy before,” she told host Seth Meyers when she appeared on Late Night With Seth Meyers in October 2023.
What’s more, Kelly thanked NBC for allowing her move to New York for personal reasons while accepting the award for Daytime Talk Series.
“It’s important to say that not everybody really thinks about what’s going on behind the scenes,” she said on stage, per People. “The fact that NBC, a huge company, took time and listened when I said, ‘Hey, my life is not going super great. I don’t know if I can live here anymore. I don’t know if I can do this.’ They really wrapped their arms around us, and they helped us move.”
“It takes a lot of time and money and effort to do that — it is not unnoticed,” she added. “I just want to say ‘thank you’ for thinking of mental health as a product.”
Well, if this is the case, it looks like we’ll have to keep waiting for an announcement on Katy’s replacement!
Source: Billboard, E! News, Entertainment Tonight, People
