Luke Bryan reacts to Katy Perry’s ‘American Idol’ exit — is he next?
He’s gonna miss her “Unconditionally.”
Luke Bryan said it wasn’t a “huge shock” that fellow “American Idol” judge Katy Perry plans to exit the singing competition after this season.
“I had heard whispers that she was thinking about it — it wasn’t like a huge shock,” the country star, 47, told Taste of Country. “I think she kinda just got caught up in the moment with Kimmel and maybe announced that she was done.”
Bryan said that he and the “I Kissed a Girl” singer, who has been a judge since 2018, developed a very close friendship during their years on the show.
“It’s been a good run with Katy, and she and I have developed a great friendship and to work alongside her, I mean, heck, I was there before her daughter was born, and now her daughter is 3 or 4 years old.”
The “Country Girl” singer further gushed that Perry, 39, is a fantastic mother and “it’s just really been fun getting to know Katy.”
No matter what Perry attempts next, she “can pick up the phone and call me and check in and say hey,” he added.
“If she ever needs fishing advice or any random stuff like that,” he further joked.
When asked by the outlet if the “Hot n Cold” singer’s departure had influenced him to reconsider his decision to return, Bryan stated that it’s a conversation he has with himself all the time.
“No, not really. I mean, every year we re-kinda negotiate how we do ‘Idol,’ and it’s a year commitment,” he explained. “It’s not like I have a five-year contract or anything. So when we start getting into the later stages of ‘Idol,’ we’ll start deciding whether we come back or not, and that’s how we have done it for seven years.”
Perry said she would be leaving the long-running show after its current Season 22 during an appearance on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”
“Well, you know, this fall, this September, I’m going to be doing this huge music festival in Brazil called Rock in Rio. It’s really exciting,” she told Kimmel, 56, in February. “It’s a big deal for people all over the world, especially my Brazilian fans.
“So I think this will probably be my last season for ‘Idol,’ ” she added. “I love ‘Idol’ so much. It’s connected me with the heart of America. But I need to feel that pulse of my own beat.”
Perry later confirmed her departure from the judge’s panel in an Instagram post.
Perry’s tenure on the show had been plagued with several online rants by diehard fans of the show lambasting the coach for her provocative — and sometimes “rude” — teaching methods.
In May, the “California Gurls” singer clapped back, claiming that the producers of “Idol” intentionally edited footage to make her look like the “nasty” judge.
Fellow judge Lionel Richie, meanwhile, issued a statement saying that he wasn’t upset with Perry’s choice to exit.
“It just made me run off the road when I first heard about it. My phone blew up,” he told Kimmel. “I’m not mad.”
“American Idol” airs Sundays and Mondays at 8 p.m. on ABC.
