‘American Idol’: Katy Perry As Judge, And Other Changes You Wouldn’t Expect

American Idol is returning in 2018, and from what sources have gathered, there are some major changes happening to the talent show that might take fans by surprise.

The production budget of the show had been one of the main reasons why it concluded last year, now that the talent program has found a new home at ABC, network execs want to make sure that, upon its return, American Idol returns to being a ratings smash.

According to Hollywood Life, American Idol will be changing the age limit that the previous format had. Once auditions begin taping later this year, producers will change the format in so that a demographic below the age of 16 can participate; it’s said that children as young as 11 will have the chance to audition too.

And, of course, this works both ways, with a source telling Hollywood Life that producers also want to open the doors for older people to participate — after all, it’s not just about creating a star but also finding someone with a voice that can sell records for years to come.

That’s one of the significant changes that American Idol will be bringing to the revamped version next year, it’s been alleged.

“There are so many things being considered to change the format of the show, but they don’t want to overdue it because they still want to honor what makes ‘Idol’ work,” a source gushes. “Some things that have been addressed is the age of the contestants.”

“They want to make it more drastic and give more people young and old a chance to win the show. They also want to introduce different ways to vote where the judges have more say on who goes on from week to week. They also want to keep the ‘Idol’ save. Another idea they are considering would be having the contestants perform with each other as well as on their own.”

Earlier this week, ABC confirmed that Katy Perry will be one of the four judges taking part in the first season under the new network. While it has not been revealed as to how much the “Roar” singer will be making, sources claim that Katy had multiple negotiations to get the money she wanted in order to find the next star on American Idol.

As previously mentioned, American Idol had a drastic financial crisis in its last season, since the majority of the money was being used up for household names to judge the contestants, which included Jennifer Lopez, Keith Urban, and Randy Jackson.

American Idol producers are still on the lookout for the next three stars they want as their judges for the forthcoming series.

Insiders revealed last week that Kelly Clarkson had been approached, but she reportedly declined the offer that was made to her because NBC had offered her more to become a judge on The Voice next year, TMZ asserts.

Regarding the upcoming changes to American Idol, a source continued to tell Hollywood Life the following.

“They want the contestants to perform with established talent throughout the season rather than just the finale and it’s very important to them that they have the winner mean something and not be forgotten especially for their debut season.”

American Idol is expected to start its audition process in a couple of months, meaning that the full lineup of judges will be confirmed in the following weeks.

Further information regarding the changes that the show begins to bring to the revamped platform have yet to confirmed, including the ones Hollywood Life has mentioned.

With all that being said, are you looking forward to catch American Idol again when it returns next year?

[Featured Image by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images]