The rumour mill was aflame with reports that Katy Perry was in the running to be a judge on ABC’s upcoming American Idol revival, and the network confirmed those reports during Tuesday’s ABC upfront presentation.
“I am honoured and thrilled to be the first judge bringing back the American Idol tradition of making dreams come true for incredible talents with authentic personalities and real stories,” Perry said in a statement following the announcement that she would be a judge on the network’s reboot of Idol.
READ MORE: Fox executive says ‘American Idol’ revival would be ‘extremely fraudulent’
“I’m always listening to new music, and love discovering diamonds in the rough — from mentoring young artists on my label, or highlighting new artists on my tours,” she added. “I want to bring it back to the music.”
“We are thrilled to be ushering in this new era of American Idol with Katy leading the charge,” ABC Entertainment President Channing Dungey said. “Her incredible accolades speak for themselves. We are so lucky to have this strong and talented woman help inspire and guide the next crop of artists as they pursue their dreams.”
Perry also shared her excitement over her new role on Twitter.
READ MORE: Katy Perry is the main course in new video for ‘Bon Appetit’
While Perry is the only judge to be revealed so far, rumours are also swirling that Chris Martin may be joining her, with the Mirror reporting the Coldplay front man is also in the running to be a judge.
Interestingly enough, Perry — who once sat in as a guest judge on American Idol — told The Hollywood Reporter back in 2012 that she had been approached to join the show full time, but the timing wasn’t right. “People have reached out to me about the possibility of being involved, and it’s not right for me yet,” Perry said at the time, adding that “it’s a real commitment to be on one of those shows. … I have ideas for two or three big, creative things, and I want to be able to fulfill those ideas.”
Perry is in the midst of promoting her upcoming new album, and performed at Saturday’s Wango Tango music festival.
- Law (Taylor’s Version): 1st-ever Taylor Swift law course in Canada comes to Queen’s University
- Taylor Swift surprises fans with double album, ‘The Tortured Poets Department’
- Hot Docs left out of budget 2024 funds as financial woes cloud arts organization
- Quebec artists demand more provincial funding, say many struggle to ‘work creatively’
Comments