Country superstar Jelly Roll has reportedly been shortlisted to replace Luke Bryan on American Idol.
Following news of Katy Perry’s shocking departure as a judge after seven seasons earlier this month, the show’s producers have already started looking for a big name to replace the 47-year-old Country Girl (Shake It For Me) hitmaker to fulfill if he decides not to return.
Roll, who recently won a Country Music Association Award for Best New Artist and had three number one country hits last year, currently serves as a guest mentor on the 22nd season of American Idol.
“It’s doubtful Luke will continue on Idol beyond this season, so they’re bringing in Jelly to test the waters and see how viewers react,” a source told the network. National researcher.
Country superstar Jelly Roll is reportedly shortlisted to replace Luke Bryan on American Idol; seen in February 2024
The insider added: ‘Their only concern is that Jelly is such a lovely guy, he won’t have the heart to be brutally honest in criticizing a contestant – but he would instantly make the show more exciting and relevant!’
Bryan, who joined American Idol as a judge at the same time as Perry and Lionel Richie, has spoken out over the years about wanting to slow down “a little” to spend more time with his wife Caroline Boyer and their teenage sons.
“It’s a huge challenge to navigate this career and everything that comes with it,” he said E! News in 2022. “You just have to set personal goals to get home and move and there are a lot of nights I’m traveling through the night trying to get there one day to hang out with the boys.”
Despite having an “amazing life” full of “blessings,” the Georgia native admitted it can be difficult to juggle his career and family life.
“I’ll probably slow it down a bit when the boys get to high school and want to play more sports,” he teased.
However, in February, Dustin Lynch revealed that Bryan had lost sleep over the possibility of losing his job on American Idol after going on a controversial rant.
Speaking about how Bryan raised eyebrows when he introduced him at his annual Crash My Playa festival in Mexico, the 38-year-old singer-songwriter said his compatriot was “concerned” by the reaction.
“He’s obviously worried about 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 shocking departure as a judge after seven seasons earlier this month, the show’s producers have already started looking for a big name to replace the 47-year-old Country Girl (Shake It For Me) hitmaker to fulfill if he decides not to return
Roll, who recently won a Country Music Association Award for Best New Artist and earned three number one country hits last year, currently serves as a guest mentor on the 22nd season of American Idol (airing in February 2024).
Meanwhile, his longtime co-star and fellow judge Perry announced she has left American Idol during an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live earlier this month.
The 39-year-old pop star and Idol judge used her spot on the ABC show to share the news of her impending departure.
The multihyphenate has reportedly been plotting 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 purposefully editing her to resemble the “annoying 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 had seven seasons.
“It’s doubtful Luke will continue on Idol after this season, so they’re putting Jelly to the test to 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.
She faced a slew of controversies and scandals last season – and sources told DailyMail.com in a June 2023 article that she had grown tired of dealing with viewer backlash and reached a breaking point when she was booed because she criticized the participants. .
Although Katy has faced criticism in the past, the insider revealed that season 21 had been particularly tough for her, especially when she was dragged into a mother scandal that prompted a singer on the show to quit.
“Katy feels like (the producers) threw her under the bus,” the source said. “She feels her comments could have been deleted.
‘Katy became aware of the harsh criticism. Being booed really upset her. She tried to stay in her lane, do her job and go home.
‘She started it with the idea that she wanted to nurture young talent. Having her good intentions misinterpreted was not what she wanted. She has achieved so much in her career and is now seen as an annoying reality show judge.
“Katy has wanted to leave for a while, but this season has been way too much for her,” the insider said.
During season 16, she was criticized for kissing 19-year-old contestant Benjamin Glaze, who wrote his own song, Stadium.
Perry announced she has left 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 had seven seasons.
After revealing that he had never been kissed before, Katy came up and gave him a kiss directly on the lips.
“I felt a little uncomfortable,” Mr. Glaze told The New York Times. ‘I wanted to save it for my first relationship. I wanted it to be special.”
Katy was accused of mother-shaming 25-year-old Sara Beth Liebe during season 21.
Sara sang Amy Winehouse’s You Know I’m No Good, and Perry interrupted her performance and said, “Come on, we need more,” as Sara continued.
“That’s not enough,” Katy said when Sara finished singing. “Try Bennie and the Jets,” she instructed, 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, to push it to the limit, without looking back.” She added, “Sing it like it’s your new dream.”
Katy joined American Idol for its 2018 reboot when the singing competition moved from its original home on Fox to ABC
Sara tried to incorporate Perry’s advice into her second song, as Perry continued to shout demands at her as she sang.
‘More of that! Wait a minute,” Katy said before calling her “Accidental American Idol.”
Sara then shocked the judges when she said she had three children at home.
Katy acted like she was going to faint, prompting Sara to say, “If Katy is on the table, I think I’m going to faint.”
Katy – mother of two-year-old Daisy Bloom with Orlando Bloom – replied: ‘Honey, you’ve left too much on the table.’
Sara said she found Katy’s comments “hurtful” and subsequently discouraged others from participating in “mom shaming.”
“At the beginning of my audition, before I sang, I mentioned that I had three kids and was a young mother, and Katy Perry made a joke that wasn’t super nice,” Sara Beth said.
“I don’t have much to say about my feelings about it because it probably goes without saying.”
“But I wanted to take this opportunity to say that I think women supporting and uplifting other women is so cool, and that mom shaming is super lame.”
In the next episode – after singing The Police’s hit Roxanne – she told Katy, Lionel and Luke: “This opportunity is really fantastic, but this will actually be my last performance because my heart is home.”
“So I’m going home to my babies. They actually need me.’