Now That Kelly Clarkson Turned Down American Idol Panel, Who Could Be the Next Judge?

Summary

• Katy Perry has left American Idol after seven seasons as a judge.
• Kelly Clarkson was rumored to fill the spot, but she rejected the idea.
• There are a number of A-list singers who could replace Katy Perry as the third American Idol judge.

Season 22 of American Idol ended three weeks ago, and it did so with a bang as Katy Perry, who had been a judge on the singing competition show since its revival on ABC in 2018, departed. Perry's presence on Idol for seven seasons had seen plenty of controversy, from the singer's generally obnoxious behavior to stealing the first kiss from one of the contestants. Despite this, she was very popular with viewers, who are now wondering who could replace her.

Four-time The Voice coach and three-time Grammy winner Kelly Clarkson seemed like the perfect candidate for the vacancy, given her history with American Idol. Clarkson was the winner of the first season of the show, which had yet to become a staple of American television. But when asked recently if she would take on the judging position, the singer and host of her New York-based daytime talk show of the same name said a firm no, adding that she wanted to spend as much time as possible with her children, while Idol would require her to move to Los Angeles.

'[We left LA because] I wanted a life for us. And we enjoy the park every day and we enjoy each other,' Kelly Clarkson said in an interview. 'As a parent – people get this – you only get so much time until they don't want to hang out with you.'

Who Might Join Luke Bryan and Lionel Richie on the American Idol Judges' Panel?

Kelly Clarkson is a sweetheart, and it's no wonder that many American Idol fans would love to see the show's alum become one of its judges. But there are plenty of other brilliant singers who could fill that spot.

The thing is, ABC is unlikely to cast a judge for a single season, and since the show takes up a lot of the judges' time, any candidate would have to have no tours scheduled for a couple of years. This significantly limits the number of potential judges, as only well-established artists can afford not to tour for several years. Adele and Miley Cyrus meet this requirement. Then Pink and Meghan Trainor, whose current tours are scheduled to end in the fall, will also be available for the next season of American Idol.

On the other hand, the next American Idol judge could be someone less famous, but very familiar to the show's audience. Season 6 winner Jordin Sparks, who has released four studio albums, received two Grammy nominations and starred in a number of films, has expressed a desire to take the job. But it seems that ABC is intent on keeping this a secret in order to generate more hype for the twenty-third season of AI.

Source: Entertainment Tonight.