Ed Sheeran and Alanis Morissette to replace Katy Perry and Lionel Richie on 'American Idol' amid King Charles coronation gig
BRENTWOOD, CALIFORNIA: Katy Perry will be replaced on 'American Idol' for some time by a big-time celebrity. The 38-year-old singer and her 'American Idol' co-star Lionel Richie are scheduled to play at King Charles' coronation concert in May and Luke Bryan has alerted fans that big-name replacements on the TV program are on the way.
The 'American Idol' Top 7 will perform in front of the judges next week, on May 7. But who are the judges? Luke will be present, but Lionel and Katy are at odds. Both are slated to play at the coronation concert for King Charles III on the grounds of Windsor Castle in England on the same day. The two judges will have to miss the episode unless they judge by hologram at 1 am UK time. But now, Luke has teased who might replace Lionel and Katy on the panel.
RELATED ARTICLES
'Should've gone home': 'American Idol' fans slam Marybeth Byrd for slow rendition of ABBA song
'American Idol' 2023: Fans call Nutsa 'arrogant' as she ignores mentor Adam Lambert's advice
Who will replace Katy and Lionel on 'American Idol'?
ET's Cassie DiLaura spoke with the country singer on April 28 ahead of his headline performance at Stagecoach in the California desert, where he teased that big-name musicians who have sold millions of albums will stand in for the duet. "It’s big time. It’s big time," Luke told ET. "The people that we have filling in, contestants, have used their songs many, many times. A lot more than mine!"
He couldn't reveal further specifics, though, because "he didn't want to get kicked off Idol." It's a well-guarded secret! Fans will have to wait and see who joins Luke at the judges' table as Katy and Lionel participate in a historic weekend.
It was revealed on the May 1 episode of 'American Idol' that Alanis Morissette and Ed Sheeran would be stepping in for the evening. The announcement was made during Monday's live Idol broadcast. Along with serving as a guest judge, Alanis will mentor the Top 7 before taking the stage to perform her songs. The finalists will also perform duets on Ed's hits.
Alanis will perform one of her songs, while Ed will give audiences an exclusive performance of his new track. Katy and Lionel are anticipated to join in from the other side of the Atlantic.
Katy felt 'so grateful'
Katy recently stated that she is "so grateful" to have been invited to sing at the event. The singer is already an ambassador for one of the monarch's organizations, and she is excited about the show. "It was very regal, it was like a cursive I have never seen," Katy said of her invitation to ExtraTV. "I loved it. It was so beautiful and I was so grateful to get the honor because actually I am an ambassador for the British Asian Trust, which primarily focuses on ending child trafficking, which is a huge issue of our time and it just aligned with all my values."
She added, "I’m also an ambassador for Unicef. And as a mother I know first-hand that these innocent children need help, they need to be helped. So I’m just going there as an ambassador, and they asked me to sing, and it all aligned."
Lionel was 'surprised'
Lionel, who was just in France for his daughter Sofia Richie's wedding, claimed he was 'surprised' King Charles requested him to perform. The 'Hello' chart-topper said he couldn't believe it when he found out the King wanted him to play for him, despite the fact that he had hundreds of "names" to choose from.
"I mean, you don’t get in the business and say, 'You know what? I’ll be at the King’s coronation.' You know, that just never comes up. [It’s] A, a surprise. B, what an honor. And C, the fact of all the names that are out there that he could have had for this, he called my name."
Lionel, who has known Charles for years and views him as a "wonderful person," told People magazine that he did "celebrate his now stepping into the king role."
'American Idol' Season 21 airs every Sunday and Monday at 8 pm ET on ABC.
