Lionel Richie reveals which American Idol winner should replace Katy Perry as a judge

American IdolLionel Richie teases who will replace Katy Perry as a judge in season 23. American Idol ran on FOX for 15 seasons before it was canceled in 2016. Katy, Luke Bryan and Lionel became judges after the series was revived in 2018. ABC. However, in February 2024, Katy shocked viewers by announcing that she would be leaving the show after season 22 ended. Luke and longtime host Ryan Seacrest think it would be fun to see Meghan Trainor take Katy’s place after she’s gone. Meanwhile, Lionel thinks it should be the former American Idol winner.

“Kelly, if you have nothing else to do, I’d like to leave it out. Big fan!”

Lionel said ET that he thinks for the first time American Idol winner Kelly Clarkson would be the perfect judge. Lionel ran into Kelly over the weekend. He did not want to bring open American Idol judge’s position upwards. However, he brought it up and “slipped important notes.” Lionel laughed as he added: “Kelly, we’ve been together a long time.” Lionel admitted that there was a task to find someone who could replace Katy’s sense of humor. He talked about getting someone with no ego because the judges “hurt each other so much.”

Lionel Richie also wants Taylor Swift to replace Katy Perry

Will Taylor step into the shoes of her former enemy?

Lionel explained: “WWhen you’re with Luke, he doesn’t know he’s going to kill you, understand?However, according to Lionel, it does judging American Idol such a wonderful experience. At a certain point, nothing is about the judges, but “children,“competitors. Lionel admitted that he had a list, and told Kelly that if she had nothing to do, she might consider coming back American Idol, but as a judge. Meanwhile, Lionel also has another name on his list that he would like to see associated with the reality TV show.

“By the way, Taylor, if you’re available, we’d love to have you here.”

Lionel decided to shoot for the stars by mentioning Taylor Swift’s name instead of Katy. Taylor is one of the hottest stars in the world right now, especially after the release of her highly anticipated breakup album ‘The Tortured Poets Department’. Lionel looked at the camera and talked about Taylor during the interview and asked her to call him. Interestingly, Katy and Taylor have famously gone from friends to enemies and are currently back to being friends. It is believed that Taylor referred to Katy in the 1989 song “Bad Blood” and Katy referred to her as Regina George.

Taylor and Katy have ended their feud for good as of 2024. Katy even attended Taylor’s Eras Tour concert in Sydney. Katy has already made room for other things, as she had wanted to do since leaving American Idol. She doesn’t plan on retiring to an island just yet, but Katy wants to go see the world and make new music in the process. Katy has a very exciting year planned for her pop star girls after season 22. Katy performing at Brazil’s Rock in Rio music festival in September 2024hasn’t completely ruled out a return to the long-running show.

Source: ET