Luke Bryan namechecks three possible American Idol judges, Reveals his continued role isn’t confirmed
With Katy Perry leaving American Idol after 7 seasons at the end of season 22 in May, that leaves the summer for fans to speculate which celebrity will take her place. Luke Bryan offers up three names, and reveals details about his future as a judge on the show.
In an interview with Billboard magazine recently, Luke noted three artists artists’ names have been floated as potential candidates for the open judges’ seat.
Could P!nk, Meghan Trainor or Miley Cyrus join the American Idol judges panel?
“I’ve said several names. I think P!nk has been in the talks, Miley Cyrus has been in the talks, Meghan Trainor has been in the talks,” Luke shared.
However, P!nk told Entertainment Tonight in an interview that she’s ambivalent about judging on a TV talent show, stating, “I don’t like hurting people’s feelings … I like my day job.”
Meanwhile, Meghan Trainor, who served as an American Idol mentor last season, has told anyone and everyone willing to listen that SHE WANTS THE JOB. PLEASE AMERICAN IDOL HIRE ME! The singer-songwriter said during an interview on Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen, “I’ve done every interview in the world and said that that is my dream job, and I have emailed three awesome people who work in that world who don’t really have the final say … but I have begged for this job … it’s my favorite show — I’ve watched it since I was a child.”
As far as Miley Cyrus is concerned–she served as a coach on The Voice for two seasons in 2016 and 2017. While the panel on the NBC competition serves as mentors and cheerleaders more than panelists on Idol, who offer at least some constructive criticism, the former Disney star is pretty outspoken. Unlike P!nk, she’d probably have no trouble dishing tough love to American Idol hopefuls
“We currently haven’t heard what the story is on who’s coming back, and if Lionel and I are coming back.”
But here’s the thing. Luke reveals that potentially, the ENTIRE PANEL could be shaken up. Disney/ABC hired Luke, Lionel Richie and Katy Perry to sit on the judges panel when the network rebooted the veteran series after FOX cancelled it after 15 seasons. Season 16 on ABC premiered in March 2018. Ryan Seacrest has hosted all 22 seasons on both FOX and ABC.
“It’s been interesting,” Luke told Billboard, “It’s been something Disney been really tight-lipped about with me and Lionel and Ryan. 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.”
Billboard reached out to representatives for American Idol, who declined to comment. In general, judges for new seasons of Idol have been revealed later in the summer.
Could low American Idol ratings be leading to a cast shakeup?
As we reported a few weeks ago American Idol has lost ratings share every season (along with most series on broadcast TV). But between 2023 and 2024, the losses were in the double digits. Additionally, at the end of season 22, the show fired a long time executive producer, Wyleen May, who had worked on the singing competition since it began in 2002. She underwent a Human Resources investigation at the end of 2023, but producers at Fremantle insist that the HR investigation did not impact May’s exit from the show.
It feels like American Idol may be experiencing a 7 season stretch in order to freshen up the format and attract a few eyeballs back to the series. We’ll know more before the summer is over.
