Charlie Puth, Luke Bryan To Join Katy Perry As ‘American Idol’ Judges?

Charlie Puth and Luke Bryan are in talks to join Katy Perry in ABC’s “American Idol.”

ABC is close to forming the new panel of “American Idol.” The network is considering Lionel Richie, Luke Bryan and Charlie Puth to join the panel of judges for its upcoming singing competition show. However, a source told The Hollywood Reporter that the negotiations have not started yet.

READ: Former “American Idol” producer believed that Bruno Mars should join Katy Perri in ABC’s “American Idol” reboot

Many believe that the “Hello” singer has the highest chances of joining Perry in the “American Idol” revival because he is the “internal favorite” among the three. Bryan has also high chances because the network has an inclination to country music, considering that the Disney-owned network is the home to the Country Music Awards. Meanwhile, the “We Don’t Talk Anymore” singer has the least possibility to land a seat in the panel among the trio.

The remaining judges’ slots need to be filled soon because the audition for “American Idol” is slated to start on Aug. 17 in Florida. At the time, only Perry is on board for the panel after signing a $25 million deal with the network. TMZ reported that ABC initially offered the slot to the “Roar” singer for $20 million which Perry declined. The network was already desperate to sign a name for the reboot before the Upfront in May, so they increased their offer to close a deal with the “Firework” songstress.

Meanwhile, the network had successfully closed the deal to have Ryan Seacrest join the show as host after nearly three months of negotiations, THR noted. Nigel Lythgoe also believed that Seacrest is the best person to host the show. “There isn’t a better host than Ryan Seacrest, so I hope they stay with Ryan,” the former “American Idol” producer told Entertainment Tonight.

Lythgoe also dropped an artist’s name whom he believed would make a great judge along with Perry. “The biggest star in my mind at the moment is Bruno Mars,” he told ET. “I think Bruno is fantastic. I don’t know if he’d do it” while noting that “just because he’s a great singer and a great performer doesn’t necessarily make him a great judge... You can never tell how a person’s gonna be.”

Who do you think among the names mentioned should join Perry in “American Idol”? Drop a comment below.