Country superstar Jelly Roll is reportedly on the short list to replace Luke Bryan on American Idol.
Following news of Katy Perry’s surprising departure as a judge after seven seasons earlier this month, the show’s producers have already begun searching for a big name to fill the Country Girl (Shake It For Me) hitmaker’s shoes. , 47 years old, if he so chooses. never to return.
Roll, who recently won a Country Music Association Award for Best New Artist and had three No. 1 country hits last year, currently serves as a guest mentor on season 22 of American Idol.
“It’s doubtful Luke will continue on Idol after this season, so they’ll bring in Jelly to test the waters and see how viewers react,” a source told the outlet. National Researcher.
Country superstar Jelly Roll is reportedly on the short list to replace Luke Bryan on American Idol; seen in February 2024
The source added: “His only concern is that Jelly is such a sweet guy that he won’t have the heart to be brutally honest when criticizing a contestant, but it would instantly make the show more engaging and relevant!”
Bryan, who joined American Idol as a judge at the same time as Perry and Lionel Richie, has expressed over the years his desire to slow down “a little bit” to spend more time with his wife Caroline Boyer and their teenage children. .
“It’s a tremendous challenge to navigate this career and everything that comes with it,” he said. MY! News in 2022. “You just have to set personal goals to get home and move and there are a lot of nights where I travel all night just to try to be there one day to hang out with the kids.”
Despite having an “incredible life” full of “blessings,” the Georgia native admitted it can be difficult to juggle his career and family life.
“I’ll probably scale it back a little bit as the kids get into high school and want to play even more sports,” he joked.
In February, however, Dustin Lynch revealed that Bryan lost sleep over the possibility of losing his job on American Idol after a controversial rant.
While talking about how Bryan gained attention for performing at his annual Crash My Playa festival in Mexico, the singer-songwriter, 38, said his fellow country star was “concerned” about the reaction.
‘He is worried [about]”Obviously, American Idol,” Lynch said on iHeartPodcasts and MeatEater’s God’s Country podcast. ‘Who cares about country music? It’s ‘American Idol’.
Following news of Katy Perry’s surprising departure as a judge after seven seasons earlier this month, the show’s producers have already begun searching for a big name to fill the Country Girl (Shake It For Me) hitmaker’s shoes. , 47 years old, if he so chooses. do not come back
Roll, who recently won a Country Music Association Award for Best New Artist and had three No. 1 country hits last year, currently serves as a guest mentor on season 22 of American Idol (seen February 2024).
Meanwhile, her co-star and longtime judge Perry announced that she was leaving American Idol during an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live earlier this month.
The 39-year-old pop star and Idol judge took advantage of her spot on the ABC show to share the news about her impending departure.
The multi-hyphenate has reportedly been planning her exit from the show since last year, when it was revealed that she repeatedly felt “thrown under the bus by producers” who she believed were purposely editing her to make her look like the “nasty judge.” “.
While sharing her plans to leave, Perry noted that it was her seventh season as a judge and that former judges Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson all had seven seasons.
“It’s doubtful Luke will continue on Idol after this season, so they’re bringing in Jelly to test the waters and see how viewers react,” a source told the National Enquirer.
Katy joined American Idol for its reboot in 2018 when the singing competition moved from its original home on Fox to ABC.
He faced a host of controversies and scandals last season, with sources telling DailyMail.com in a June 2023 article that he had grown tired of dealing with viewer backlash, reaching a breaking point when They booed her for dishing out criticism to the contestants. .
Although Katy has faced criticism in the past, the source revealed that season 21 had been particularly tough on her, particularly when she was dragged into a scandal that embarrassed her mother and led to a singer on the show quitting.
‘Katy feels like [the producers] He threw her under the bus,” the source said. ‘She feels her comments could have been deleted.
‘Katy noticed the harsh criticism. Being booed really bothered her. She was trying to stay in her lane, do her job and get home.
‘She went into it thinking that she was going to encourage young talent. Having her good intentions misunderstood was not what she wanted. She has achieved a lot in her career and now she is considered an unpleasant reality show judge.
“Katy has wanted to date for some time, but this season was too much for her,” the source said.
During season 16, she was criticized for kissing 19-year-old contestant Benjamin Glaze, who wrote his own song, Stadium.
Perry announced that she was leaving American Idol during an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live earlier this month (seen last year).
While sharing her plans to leave, Perry noted that it was her seventh season as a judge and that former judges Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson all had seven seasons.
After revealing that they had never kissed him before, Katy walked up and kissed him directly on the lips.
“I felt a little uncomfortable,” Glaze told the New York Times. ‘I wanted to save it for my first relationship. I wanted it to be special.’
Katy during season 21 was accused of “embarrassing her mother” Sara Beth Liebe, 25.
Sara sang You Know I’m No Good by Amy Winehouse and Perry interrupted her performance saying, “Come on, we need more,” as Sara continued.
“That’s not enough,” Katy said when Sara finished singing. “Try Bennie and the Jets,” she told him, adding that Liebe had nothing to lose because “it’s not her dream yet.”
Katy urged her to “show us what your voice can do, push it to the limit, never look back.” And she added: “Sing it like it’s your new dream.”
Katy joined American Idol for its reboot in 2018 when the singing competition moved from its original home on Fox to ABC.
Sara attempted to incorporate Perry’s advice into her second song as Perry continued to shout demands at her as she sang.
‘More of that! “Wait,” Katy said before dubbing her “Accidental American Idol.”
Sara then surprised the judges when she said she had three children at home.
Katy pretended she was going to pass out, prompting Sara to say, “If Katy lays down on the table, I think I’m going to pass out.”
Katy, who is mother to two-year-old Daisy Bloom along with Orlando Bloom, responded: “Honey, you’ve been lying on the table too much.”
Sara said she found Katy’s comments “hurtful” and discouraged others from participating in “mommy shaming.”
“At the beginning of my audition before I sang, I mentioned that I had three kids and that I was a young mother and Katy Perry made a joke that wasn’t very nice,” Sara Beth said.
“I don’t have much to say about my feelings about it because it’s probably self-explanatory.”
“But I wanted to take this opportunity to say that I think the fact that women support and encourage other women is great and I think mom-shaming is really dumb.”
In the following episode, after singing The Police hit Roxanne, she told Katy, Lionel and Luke: “This opportunity is really great, but it will actually be my last performance, because my heart is at home.”
‘So, I’m coming home to my babies. In a way they need me.’