Luke Bryan Doesn’t Know if He’s Returning to ‘American Idol’ After Katy Perry’s Exit
ABC’s American Idol Season 22 shows Luke Bryan, Katy Perry, and Lionel Richie reprising their roles as the judges, and fans love their dynamic. The three judges joined the show in 2018 and remained together ever since. Unfortunately, the dynamic is about to change, as Perry announced she plans to leave the show after the current season. What does this mean for Bryan and Richie? Here’s what Bryan said about whether he intends to return.
Luke Bryan isn’t sure what his future with ‘American Idol’ looks like
Luke Bryan joined American Idol for season 16, and he loves sitting in as a judge and listening to the talented singers belt out their best tunes on stage. Bryan also gets along well with Katy Perry and Lionel Richie, the other two hosts who joined the same season. Unfortunately, the dynamic between all three judges will change after season 16, as Perry plans to leave the series.
Bryan spoke to Taste of Country Nights about Perry leaving, and the interviewers asked him if her departure impacts whether he’ll return to the series.
“No, not really,” he admitted. “I mean, every year we kinda negotiate how we do Idol, and it’s a year commitment. It’s not like I have a five-year contract or anything. So, when we start getting into the later stages of Idol, we’ll start deciding whether we come back or not, and that’s how we have done it for seven years.”
Bryan wishes Perry well in her future endeavors and wasn’t completely surprised to hear her announcement.
“I had heard whispers that she was thinking about it — it wasn’t like a huge shock,” he said. “I think she kinda just got caught up in the moment with Kimmel and maybe announced that she was done.”
Katy Perry announced her departure on ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’
American Idol Season 22 fans were shocked when Katy Perry announced her plan to leave the show. She sat with Jimmy Kimmel on Jimmy Kimmel Live! to discuss her decision.
“This fall, this September, I’m going to be doing this huge music festival in Brazil called Rock in Rio,” Perry said. “It’s really exciting. It’s a big deal; it’s a big deal for people all over the world, especially for my Brazilian fans. But, I think this probably will be my last show, my last season for Idol. I mean, I love Idol so much. It’s connecting me with 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, Jimmy?”
Kimmel asked Perry whether she told her co-stars about her imminent departure. “Well, they’ll find out tonight!” she said with a laugh. “They know that I have some things planned for this year. So, it’s going to be a very, very exciting year. … I’ve been in the studio for awhile, so, they figured something.”
Lionel Richie said his ‘phone blew up’ when he heard about Katy Perry leaving
Lionel Richie likely doesn’t know what the future holds for him on American Idol. He spoke to Jimmy Kimmel on Jimmy Kimmel Live! in March 2024 about Katy Perry’s decision to leave the show.
“I’m not mad; it just made me run off the road when I heard about it,” Richie recalled. “My phone blew up. But the point was, no, we didn’t know about it, but it makes sense.”
Richie elaborated on why it makes sense for Perry to leave. “In other words, the reason I love coming on this show here with you, and the reason I’m doing American Idol, is because I have 400 years of stories and a life in the music business,” he continued. “I have things that I’ve done. And so when Katy says, ‘I want to go and create some stories,’ remember, she’s young. … You have to take some time and actually be an artist.”
American Idol Season 22 airs on Sundays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.
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