Fans Are Convinced This A-Lister Will Replace Katy Perry on 'American Idol' Amid Exit Announcement

Who could replace Katy Perry as an American Idol judge? Well, it seems the fans of the singing competition know which A-list superstar could take the Firework singer's place. Since Perry announced an abrupt exit from the revived ABC show, people have theorized several possible candidates. 

The 39-year-old joined the singing platform in 2018 after it was revived on ABC for the sixteenth season. She sat on the judges' panel alongside fellow musical artists 74-year-old Lionel Richie and 47-year-old Luke Bryan for the last seven seasons since the show began, per The Sun.

Perry decided her exit after being repeatedly projected in a negative light and facing online criticism over her judging style, claimed insiders. Her complaints were specifically for the show's producers as a source revealed, "Katy feels like [the producers] threw her under the bus," per OK! Magazine. 

Spilling behind-the-scenes drama, the source continued, "She feels like her comments could have been removed. Katy became aware of the harsh criticism. Getting booed really upset her. She was trying to stay in her lane, do her job, and go home. She went into it thinking she was going to foster young talent," reiterating, "For her good intentions to be misinterpreted, it was not what she wanted." 

The source added, "She has accomplished so much in her career and is now being looked at as a nasty reality show judge. Katy's wanted out for some time now, but this season was way too much for her to handle. She does not want her career defined by a talent competition show where she isn't even performing."

Meanwhile, fans online have been speculating about a possible substitute for Perry, a chair previously graced by Nicki Minaj, Mariah Carey, and Keith Urban. Among a slew of names, one has been gaining massive traction online. That is the songstress, Jennifer Lopez. She first appeared on the show in 2010 for seasons 10 and 11 and returned for seasons 13, 14, and 15. 

Aside from JLo, fans came up with multiple names they thought would fit the role. A Reddit thread discussed Perry's exit from American Idol, and fans quickly jumped to the comment section to share their preferred names.  A fan, u/alt_sauce124, suggested, "It was a nice steady check, but she definitely needs to move on— replace her with Carrie, or Camila, or maybe Xtina." Another fan, u/SweetSummerAir, agreed but added, "Given her career is in a lull, Camila might be a possible pick or even someone like Meghan Trainor." 

A third Reddit fan, u/LoopingCountdown, recommended, "Replace her with Lana for shits and giggles." A fourth fan, u/JumpingBorders, added, "Thank god give us more legendary bops, QUEEN." u/jman457 explained, "American idol has had a really good collection of singer-songwriters, so I feel like they need someone with a strong songwriting background to replace her." 

Meanwhile, a fan, u/Mrjopek, elucidated, "The judging panel needs to start being a bit more critical and constructive. It gets boring when they keep celebrating mediocrity. There should be a balance between the old Simon-style cruelty and the new bland encouragement."