“I’m not mad,” the “Hello” singer said, jokingly adding, “It just made me run off the road when I first heard about it. My phone blew up.”
American Idol judge Lionel Richie is sharing his thoughts on the news that his fellow judge, Katy Perry, will be exiting the show after its upcoming twenty-second season.
While appearing on Thursday’s episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live!, the singer — who joined American Idol as a judge alongside Richie and Luke Bryan in 2018 — reacted to Perry’s recent announcement that she’s leaving the ABC competition series after seven seasons.
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Katy Perry Fans Go Wild as She Confirms American Idol Exit, Teases New Music
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“I’m not mad,” Richie, 74, told Kimmel, jokingly adding, “It just made me run off the road when I first heard about it. My phone blew up.”
The “Hello” singer went on to share that he “didn’t know about” Perry’s announcement before she revealed the news during an interview with Kimmel on Monday.
“It makes sense,” Richie said. “In other words: The reason I love coming on the show with you and the reason I’m doing American Idol is because I have 400 years of stories and a life in the music business. I have things that I’ve done.”
“And so when Katy says, ‘I want to go and create some stories,’ remember, she’s young,” he added. “But the point is that you have to take some time and actually be an artist.”
When asked about who he “would like to see” replace Perry, the Grammy winner said, “You know, they are keeping tight-lipped because I don’t even know, but I’m telling you… It’s gonna be really interesting.”
“Only because, I’m telling you something, this is a great show,” he continued. “And what I love most of all is that we’re artists, so we know what we’re talking about, and these kids are scared to death, so I love sitting there as the wise poo-bahs of the three of us, and we’re sitting there and we’re all kind of giving information that we know is real.”
“So whoever’s coming on the show has got to be, well, to come past Katy, you’ve gotta be humorous forever, and, on top of that, knowledgeable,” he added.
Perry first shared the news of her exit on Monday’s episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live!
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“I think this will probably be my last season for Idol,” the 39-year-old singer revealed.
“I love Idol so much,” she said, as the crowd audibly gasped. “It’s connected me with the heart of America. But I need to feel that pulse to my own beat.”
Kimmel’s follow-up was to ask what Richie and Bryan thought about the big change, to which Perry shot back, “Well, they’ll find out tonight!”
She went on to add, “They know I have some things planned for this year. It’s going to be a very exciting year … for all pop star girlies. I’ve been in the studio for a while.”
“I wanna go and see the world, and maybe bring new music,” she added. As with everything else, Perry was a little cryptic — but also pretty transparent — with this one, but it certainly seems to suggest a new album and tour are on the way.
Season 22 of American Idol premieres Sunday night on ABC.
