A chair opens up behind the “American Idol” desk, and judge Luke Bryan has some ideas about who might fill it next.
“I've mentioned a few names. I think Pink has been in the talks, Miley Cyrus has been in the talks, Meghan Trainor has been in the talks,” he told Billboard on Monday.
But that’s not a promise. Bryan described Disney as “very tight-lipped” about casting, including whether he and Lionel Richie would be invited back.
“I think Disney is just trying to decide what they want to do,” he said, “and we're just sitting back and waiting until they decide.”
The opening of the new judge spot comes as Katy Perry is leaving the show after six seasons, having joined the reboot alongside Bryan and Richie in 2018.
“Katy was really perfect for that job,” Bryan said, “and I think they’re working really hard to find someone who can really come in and do the job that Katy did.”
“I love ‘Idol,’” Perry told Jimmy Kimmel in February. “It’s connected me to the heart of America, but I need to get out and feel the pulse of my own beat.”
For Perry, that pulse includes the release of her sixth studio album and her latest single, “Woman's World,” which is due out July 11.
As for the other artists Bryan named, two had very different reactions.
“I’ve done every interview in the world and said this is my dream job,” Megan Trainor said on “Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen.” “I’ve emailed three amazing people who work in that world and they don’t really have the final say … but I’ve begged them for this job.”
Trainor said “Idol” is her favorite show: “I’ve been watching it since I was a little girl.”
Pink, for her part, was much more apprehensive. “I don’t like hurting people’s feelings,” she told ET. “I like my day job.”
