‘American Idol’ Judges Hint At Their Return For Season 20: ‘We Love Our Job’
Another season of ‘American Idol’ is in the books for Katy Perry, Luke Bryan and Lionel Richie, and after the finale, they dished on the possibility of returning for season 20.
Katy Perry, Luke Bryan and Lionel Richie have been staples at the American Idol judges’ table since the show was revived on ABC in 2018. Earlier this month, it was revealed that the show was renewed for its 20th season, and its fifth at ABC. However, the judges’ panel has yet to be confirmed. After the season 19 finale on May 23, Katy, Luke and Lionel opened up about how they’d feel about returning once again.
“We love our jobs,” Katy told HollywoodLife and other media outlets. “Like Lionel said, it doesn’t feel like we are working because we love what we do. We find a lot of actual dreams come true. We have the power to give a lottery ticket to change somebody’s life. That feels really good. So I feel like….we will see. You’ll just have to tune in for season five!” Lionel added, “Very well said! I like that very much!”
Okay, so still no confirmation from these tight-lipped stars, but it definitely seems like they’d all love to be back based on that response. ABC also has yet to confirm whether Ryan Seacrest will be returning to host, or whether Bobby Bones will be back as the in-house mentor. Luckily, there’s still some time to figure it all out — the next season of Idol won’t start filming until the fall.
During the season 19 finale, Katy, Luke and Lionel watched on as Chayce Beckham was named the winner over Willie Spence. After the episode, Lionel warned Chayce that the music industry is “deadly” and told him that he’ll have to “swing for the fences every day.” Meanwhile, Katy urged Chayce to keep his family close, no matter how big he gets. “His mother, she had tears in her eyes [when he won],” Katy said. “You know what? she should be on the road with him all the time and be that mama bear and fight for him. [I’d tell him] just keep your family around and they will keep you honest!”