Katy Perry made her final appearance as a judge on "American Idol" during the Season 22 finale on May 19. Perry, who, along with Luke Bryan and Lionel Richie, has sat at the judges' table since the reality singing competition relaunched on ABC in 2018 after 15 seasons on Fox, announced in February that she would leave the show after the just-concluded season. Now that Abi Carter has been crowned the season's winner and Perry has made her exit, fans are wondering who will replace the "Roar" singer at the judges' table.
Richie has said he'd love to see original "American Idol" champ Kelly Clarkson return to the show as a judge . Others, including Season Three "Idol" winner Fantasia Barrino and country music star Jelly Roll, have expressed interest in the job. So, who will replace Perry on "Idol"? Here’s an early look at a few potential candidates.
Kelly Clarkson Richie opened up to " Entertainment Tonight " in April about his dream of seeing Clarkson return to the show as Perry's replacement. “Finding someone to replace Katy with a sense of humor, it’s gotta be fun but no ego because we’re gonna insult each other so much,” he said . Richie told "ET" that he and Clarkson, who previously served as a coach on Seasons 14-21 and Season 23 of “The Voice ,” have been pals for "a long time.
” “Kelly, if you don’t have anything else to do, I’d like to drop that out there. Big fan!” he added. Fantasia Barrino Clarkson isn't the only "Idol" champ whose name has been.
