Who is the richest 'American Idol' judge? Katy Perry, Luke Bryan and Lionel Richie make millions from show
Season 19 of the much-acclaimed singing reality show ‘American Idol’ is all set to premiere on ABC for the fourth year in a row. For the latest season, the talent hunt show will begin the search for the country’s best crooner from February 14. The first few episodes will broadcast the tryout process for Season 19.
Ryan Seacrest will also be returning as the host for the upcoming season. He has been hosting the reality show since its premiere on Fox back in 2002. Bobby Bones will be resuming his role as a mentor on the show.
‘American Idol’ is adapted from the original format from the United Kingdom's ‘Pop Idol’, a brainchild of TV personality Simon Fuller. ‘American Idol’ follows the same premise. Judges scour the country in search of the most talented singers starting age 15 and upward who then compete for the winning title and a recording contract. Now, if you are wondering who the judges for the latest season are, then worry not as we got you covered.
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Meet the judges
‘American Idol’ Season 19 will see pop sensation Katy Perry, country legend Luke Bryan and one of the '80s top balladeers Lionel Richie taking over the big responsibilities. All three judges will return for the fourth time since the ABC network took over the reality show.
ABC acquired rights to the series in May 2017. Prior to that, it used to air on FOX and the final episode on the network aired on April 7, 2016. All three judges have got a tremendous response in the previous seasons and it will be interesting to see how this season goes amid Covid-19 protocols.
Katy Perry
Katy Perry surely enjoys her judging responsibilities on ‘American Idol’ as viewers always got to see a fun side to the ‘California Gurls’ hitmaker. The multiple award-winning crooner is one of the biggest artistes on the planet and enjoys a massive fan following across the world that ultimately helps the show to pull an audience. Perry had announced her return to the show in August 2020 after giving birth to her daughter Daisy Dove Bloom with actor husband Orlando Bloom.
The 36-year-old singer is certainly one of the richest judges as she picks huge paychecks from the show. The Grammy-nominated artiste pockets a huge amount of money through record sales, copyrights, royalties, reality shows, touring and lucrative brand endorsements. According to Celebrity Net Worth, the signer is valued at a massive $330 million. If we talk about her ‘American Idol’ salary, Perry raked in a whopping $25 million between June 2019 and June 2020.
Luke Bryan
Country legend Luke Bryan will be returning as the judge on ‘American Idol’ Season 19 for the fourth time. The 44-year-old singer is known for his hit singles like ‘One Margarita’, ‘Country Girl’ and ‘Drunk on You’ among a few others. Bryan was named “Entertainer of the Year” by both the Country Music Association and the Academy of Country Music.
The singer has sold over 15 million albums and 60 million singles worldwide. He has won over 40 major music awards and has performed for nearly 12 million fans in the last decade while headlining seven major tours. When it comes to his net worth, the singer is valued at $140 million while he picks up $12million for his job on ‘American Idol’, as reported by Talent Recap.
Lionel Richie
Singer-songwriter, composer and record producer Lionel Richie gets a lot of love from his fans for his work on ‘American Idol’. Richie has been a judge on ABC’s show for the last three editions and will return to the judge's chair for the 2021 season. The 71-year-old singer is known for his hit singles like ‘Easy’, ‘Three Times a Lady’, ‘Still’ and the breakup ballad ‘Sail On’ among a few others.
In 1986, he won the Golden Globe award for Best Original Song for ‘Say You, Say Me’, which was featured in the film ‘White Nights’. The song also won the Academy Award for Best Original Song. On how rich Lionel Richie is, his net worth stands at a whopping $200 million, as reported by Celebrity Net Worth. When it comes to his paychecks for ‘American Idol’, Talent Recap revealed that Richie rakes in $10million for his work on the singing reality show.
Season 19 of 'American Idol' premieres on Sunday, February 14, at 8 pm ET.