Katy Perry picks Jelly Roll to replace her on ‘American Idol’
Katy Perry has named her top pick to be the new judge on “American Idol” next season: country music star Jelly Roll.
The “Firework” singer, who recently announced her exit from the long-running talent competition, extolled the virtues of who she sees as her ideal successor.
“I gotta say Jelly Roll was crazy when he came on the show,” she recently told E! News about the “Son of a Sinner” crooner. “He could run for president, he could be my pastor, I might go back to church for him. He could sell me anything … Jelly on the show would be amazing.”
Whoever is chosen to replace her, Perry hopes they will be a “truth teller.”
“I want someone that is not afraid to tell the truth in a graceful way,” she said.
In February, the 13-time Grammy Award nominee teased that the current 22nd season of “American Idol” would likely be her last.
“I mean, I love ‘Idol’ so much. It’s connected me with the heart of America, but I feel like I need to go out and feel that pulse to my own beat,” Perry said during a “Jimmy Kimmel Live” interview.
Perry later took to Instagram to confirm her plans to leave.
“Let’s play two truths and a lie: 1. I beat @usher at Monopoly Deal. 2. I’m headlining Rock in Rio this September. 3. This is my last season on @americanidol,” she wrote. (The first one was the lie.)
The 39-year-old, whose last studio album was 2020’s “Smile,” has been a judge on the show alongside Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan since its revival on ABC in 2018.