‘American Idol’: Dream Team Judges Pose For First Photo Together, Give Scoop On Drama-Free ABC Reboot


This is your American Idol judges’ panel. The superstar judges for ABC’s 2018 reboot of the long-running TV singing competition posed for their first photo together, and the star power is so bright we need to wear shades. Posing for the first time as the new American Idol team were Lionel Richie, Katy Perry, and country Luke Bryan alongside longtime host Ryan Seacrest. The A-list lineup comes on the heels of the last American Idol judges’ panel that featured Jennifer Lopez, Keith Urban, and Harry Connick Jr.

The new American Idol judges also appeared on Good Morning America to talk about the reboot of the popular Fox talent competition.

“This is the dream team,” Katy Perry said. The “Roar” singer explained that 18 months after the original American Idol signed off there is still plenty of talent out there to be discovered. The Idol judge pointed to today’s Internet age and all of the ways that young singers can now be discovered.

“The music industry is constantly changing, it’s in flux right now,” Perry said.

“I think the great American dream, we can revive that in a way and show people that if they have the talent, if they work really hard and if we can give them that lucky star and the combination of those three things maybe we can give them kind of like a little platform to just shine… we’re here to really make dreams come true and to hopefully find that American Idol.”

While the original Idol went through some growing pains with an ever-changing judges panel that included one inexplicable season with Ellen DeGeneres and a diva-infused season that pitted Mariah Carey against Nicki Minaj, Lionel Richie says the new team of Idol judges had an instant connection.

“It’s as if we’ve been in school together for the last 40 years… excuse me, I should say 20 years,” Richie said. Perry says the judges are already “locked in” with each other.

Of course, the new American Idol judges only spent their first full work day together on Oct. 3, so time will tell if that connection turns into conflict. At one point during the Carey-Minaj season, the rapper allegedly threatened to shoot Mariah Carey, who later said she hired extra security because she felt that it was an “unsafe” work environment on the Idol set. Somehow we don’t see that happening on the American Idol reboot—at least not with this crew.

“I think there’s such incredible mutual respect and everyone knows their different wheelhouses,” Perry said of the new American Idol judges, making it sound as though each judge will stay in their musical lane.

Take a look at the video below to see American Idol judges Lionel Richie, Katy Perry and Luke Bryan on Good Morning America.

[Featured Image by Eric Liebowitz]

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