Katy Perry Says She Will ‘Probably’ Leave ‘American Idol’ After Season 22

The singer drops the bombshell on “Jimmy Kimmel Live”

ABC

February 12, 2024 @ 10:41 PM

A big change is coming to “American Idol,” as judge Katy Perry indicated during her appearance Monday on “Jimmy Kimmel live” that she’ll “probably” exit the show after the upcoming 22nd season.

“This fall, in September, I’m going to be doing this huge music festival in Brazil called Rock in Rio,” Perry told Kimmel. “So I think this will probably be my last season for ‘Idol.’”

Representatives from the show confirmed the news but otherwise declined to comment.

But whether or not the show and network had advance notice, Perry told Kimmel that her “American Idol” co-stars definitely did not, saying they would find out about the decision at the same time as everyone else who watched “Kimmel.”

Asked by Kimmel, “what do Luke [Bryan] and Lionel [Richie] say about this?” Perry replied, “well, they’ll find out tonight.”

You can see some footage from her announcement below:

Season 22 will be Perry’s 7th on “American Idol.” She joined in 2016 when the show was revived by ABC (it previously ran for years on Fox). She is the first of the revival’s original group of judges to depart.

“American Idol” returns for Season 22 on Sunday, Feb. 18, ABC.