Current:Home > MyBefore Katy Perry's farewell season of 'American Idol,' judges spill show secrets-LoTradeCoin
Before Katy Perry's farewell season of 'American Idol,' judges spill show secrets
View Date:2024-12-23 18:23:08
SANTA MONICA, Calif. – In what very well might be Katy Perry’s final “American Idol” run, fellow judge Luke Bryan promises ABC's singing competition's judges are “having as much fun this season as we had Year One for us.”
With seven years of experience as a trio, Perry, Bryan and Lionel Richie might have gotten too comfortable with each other as they’re taping early rounds of Season 22, premiering Sunday (8 EST/PST).
“We can actually say things to each other and not take it personal,” Richie tells USA TODAY on set in December as they taped the "showstoppers" round. “The first season, we were all kind of tiptoeing around, (making) sure ‘I don’t want to offend you. You don’t want to offend me.’”
Perry quickly follows up, divulging, “I think the only person that talks to Lionel like I do is his daughter.”
The group – which includes longtime host and “Idol” “historian” Ryan Seacrest – constantly bounces off each other, sometimes finishing each other’s thoughts mid-sentence. Sure, they’re accustomed to hamming things up for the cameras, but speaking with them feels as if one had accidentally walked into their friendly porch hangout.
Bryan confirms they “don't have any parameters when we leave the set. We like to check up on everybody,” he says, adding that he's “always hitting these three up” in a group text chat for recommendations while traveling.
“Ryan and I are the concierge,” Perry jokes.
End of an era:Katy Perry is leaving 'American Idol' amid 'very exciting year'
‘Idol’ judges still second-guess themselves
The three singers, music industry giants in their own right, get to know each other a little better this season as they kick off “Idol’s” nationwide search for the country’s next singing sensation by going back to their roots.
In Sunday's premiere, the judges remind us that even the biggest stars had to start somewhere when they pay visits to each other’s hometowns: Leesburg, Georgia (Bryan); Tuskegee, Alabama (Richie) and Santa Barbara, California (Perry).
They don’t seem to need any reminding, however, of their responsibility for nurturing up-and-coming talent as young as 15 each season.
“We’ll even leave the show for the evening and play it back in our heads (and wonder), ‘Was that the right decision? Did I throw the baby out with the bath water?’” Richie says. “It lingers for a while.”
Bryan adds: “We're dealing with kids' lives and dreams, and we want to respect that. We’ve all been told ‘no’ multiple times in our career. It’s part of the process. (But) don’t let that dictate how you want to go be an artist; let it motivate you to be better.”
The judges check on previous seasons’ contestants ‘all the time’ on social media
Perry says the judges still think about the talent they work with long after a season wraps.
“I look them up on Instagram all the time,” she reveals. “Some of them get this big shot and momentum, and then some of them just gradually grow. And then all of a sudden, like three years later, they're really tracking in the real world. It's fun to watch them grow. And not a lot, but a few of the contestants have our (phone) numbers. We like to mentor them off on the side; we really care.”
Bryan admits to partaking in an occasional Instagram perusal of previous contestants.
“'Idol' is a springboard, a great springboard, to put them to another level in their career,” he says. “So it's always fun to follow up and see where they're at.”
Would ‘American Idol’ open up to older contestants someday?
Season after season, the judges meet hundreds of “Idol” hopefuls from a variety of backgrounds, but almost all of them are on the younger side.
The show has long kept a tight rein on the age range – you have to be 15 to 28 while auditioning. But would “Idol” ever consider moving in the same direction as fellow ABC series “Golden Bachelorette?”
“Never say never,” Seacrest says to a possible “Golden Idol.” “I’m happy to host.”
Richie agrees there’s a blind spot in their casting.
“I know (actors) who did not make it in their 20s and 30s. They made in their 40s and 50s because they finally realized … from Hollywood's point of view, the character is what we need, that new, older character,” he says. “Singing is the same way. Sometimes there are so many people who are so qualified and ready to go at 40 and 50. We just completely missed them altogether.”
veryGood! (73)
Related
- Satire publication The Onion buys Alex Jones’ Infowars at auction with help from Sandy Hook families
- Spanish prosecutors accuse Rubiales of sexual assault and coercion for kissing a player at World Cup
- Authorities identify remains of 2 victims killed in 9/11 attack on World Trade Center
- Maria Sharapova’s Guide to the US Open: Tips To Beat the Heat and Ace the Day
- Disney Store's Black Friday Sale Just Started: Save an Extra 20% When You Shop Early
- Coco Gauff navigates delay created by environmental protestors, reaches US Open final
- Court order allows Texas’ floating barrier on US-Mexico border to remain in place for now
- Judge orders Louisiana to remove incarcerated youths from the state’s maximum-security adult prison
- Ben Foster Files for Divorce From Laura Prepon After 6 Years of Marriage
- Kroger, Albertsons plan to sell over 400 stores to C&S Wholesale for nearly $2 billion: Report
Ranking
- Tennessee fugitive accused of killing a man and lying about a bear chase is caught in South Carolina
- Jimmy Fallon's 'Tonight Show' accused of creating a toxic workplace in new report
- Why beautiful sadness — in music, in art — evokes a special pleasure
- Fulton County D.A. Fani Willis accuses Jim Jordan of unjustified and illegal intrusion in Trump case
- Who will save Florida athletics? Gators need fixing, and it doesn't stop at Billy Napier
- Investigators pinpoint house as source of explosion that killed 6 near Pittsburgh last month
- This week on Sunday Morning (September 10)
- Kroger to pay $1.2 billion in opioid settlement with states, cities
Recommendation
-
Chris Wallace will leave CNN 3 years after defecting from 'Fox News Sunday'
-
Officers shoot and kill ‘agitated’ man in coastal Oregon city, police say
-
Wynonna Judd to Receive Country Champion Award at 2023 People’s Choice Country Awards
-
'My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3' heads for the homeland
-
Bradley Cooper and Gigi Hadid Enjoy a Broadway Date Night and All that Jazz
-
Germany will keep Russian oil giant Rosneft subsidiaries under its control for another 6 months
-
Danelo Cavalcante escape timeline: Everything that's happened since fugitive fled Pennsylvania prison
-
Feds leave future of Dakota Access pipeline’s controversial river crossing unclear in draft review