‘American Idol’ Reveals Which Judges are Returning for Season 21

American Idol is coming back with its original judges. Katy Perry, Luke Bryan, Lionel Richie and host Ryan Seacrest will all be returning for the show’s sixth season on ABC. This will be the 21st season of American Idol overall.

Thursday. Perry, Bryan and Richie have been judges on American Idol since it came back on Fox in 2018. Seacrest has been the host since the show first premiered in 2002.

Season 6 of “Idol” will start with the live virtual audition tour on Aug. 3. The tour will go to all 50 states. In May, Noah Thompson won Season 5. “This is crazy,” he said after the finale.

During Season 5, Perry told Entertainment Tonight that she felt the judging panel was really finding its groove. “I feel like, every season, artists see us and they are trusting us more and more,” Perry said of connecting with the artists of Season 5. “The real world out there is not easy, and you can’t be too soft.”

She continued of her own personal judging style, “I like to be firm and fair and fun and hopeful and supporting, but don’t lie to them. Because they need the help. I keep people around who say no to me all the time or debate me all the time, and that’s a real big key to success.” Perry’s strong personality has led to more disagreements with Bryan and Richie than ever before.

Perry admitted that throughout the fifth season there were a few contestants with which she “didn’t really agree with them” at all. “Those boys, like, it’s true, they may have been a little bullied by my direct, black-and-white yes or no [choices] these past seasons,” she said, reflecting on their more spirited disagreements behind the judging panel over the years. “So they’re like, ‘Were not gonna take it anymore!'” American Idol returns for a brand new season in spring 2023.