Despite all the rumormongering that a certain “mean judge” wouldn’t return, American Idol has announced that Katy Perry will once again join Luke Bryan and Lionel Richie for a seventh season on ABC. Ryan Seacrest will continue to emcee.
Perry found herself in the crosshairs of fans last season, especially when contestant Sara Beth Liebe accused the pop star of mom-shaming her during auditions. The judges were surprised to learn that Liebe, who could pass for 16, was actually 25 years old. When she revealed she had three children, Perry stood up from her chair and jokingly acted like she was going to fall back on the judge’s table.
Liebe ended up exiting the reality competition during the first episode of Hollywood week.
Later, Perry was booed by the audience when she made a comment about the amount of glitter worn by contestant Nutsa Buzaladze. She also tricked some contestants into thinking they were going home when they were really staying to compete, which prompted Bryan to tweet “Katy Perry loves to scare these kids.”
Anyhoo, that’s when all the talk heated up that maybe Perry may want to quit this gig and spend more time with her family.
Auditions kick off Wednesday, Aug. 2 with the return of the live virtual nationwide search for contestants. The 22nd season of American Idol (which includes six seasons on ABC) is set to return in spring 2024.
American Idol is produced by Fremantle and 19 Entertainment, a part of Sony Pictures Television. Executive producers include Megan Wolflick, also serving as showrunner, and Fremantle’s Jennifer Mullin with Eli Holzman and Aaron Saidman serving as executive producers for 19 Entertainment. Fremantle distributes the series worldwide.
