‘American Idol': Lionel Richie, Katy Perry + Luke Bryan All Returning for New Season
Luke Bryan, Katy Perry and Lionel Richie, along with host Ryan Seacrest, will all return for American Idol's next season. Showrunners announced the good news for the TV singing competition's fourth season on ABC on Wednesday (Aug. 19).
“American Idol has always been able to bring people together, entertain and inspire, and I am so proud of how this show continued to deliver joy and laughter into people’s homes during a time when we needed it the most,” Karey Burke, president of ABC Entertainment, says in a press release (quote via People). “There is no one who we feel more confident about leading us into a new season of high notes than Luke, Katy, Lionel and the incomparable Ryan Seacrest.”
American Idol concluded its last season — its 18th overall — in mid-May, with live rounds taking place from the casts' and contestants' homes during the novel coronavirus pandemic. Auditions for the next season have begun in the same fashion, with the season expected to premiere in 2021.
Idol showrunner and executive producer Trish Kinane says Bryan, Perry and Richie together are "fun, astute and really know how to spot talent."
"Their chemistry is undeniable," she adds, "and we are delighted that they, along with host Ryan Seacrest, are returning to find the next superstar and take American Idol to new heights next season."
Bryan recently shared that although remote filming during the pandemic went well, his rural location in Tennessee posed a bit of an issue.
"Our internet was holding up [everything]," the country superstar shared, explaining that showrunners had to send a satellite truck to his house to fix the problem.
"[The operator] could not even come inside; he had to sleep in his truck," Bryan added. "We had to get him a Porta-Potty ... This was at the height of COVID. It was the only way we could get good internet connection!"
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