Sources close to Katy Perry are telling The Hollywood Reporter that the pop star is in negotiations to be a judge on the “American Idol” reboot. Former “American Idol” winner Kelly Clarkson was reportedly the ABC Network’s first choice to be a judge, but Kelly turned down the offer to appear on NBC’s “The Voice” instead. While producers are eager to get an A-list star on the panel, some of Katy Perry’s fans are wondering what this may mean for her singing career.
It’s no secret that Katy’s pop career seems to be slowing down. Katy’s last album, “Prism” had disappointing sales numbers and the majority of it’s singles were flops. That was four years ago and while some fans have anxiously awaited a new album, some have simply moved on. Although Katy has teased her upcoming album for months, she still has no release date in mind.
Katy Perry had been waiting for her first single, “Chained to the Rythm” to hit #1, but it has performed dismally on the charts. Her second single, “Bon Appetite” has been a bona fide dud. It currently sits at #178 on iTunes. She was also recently embroiled in a controversy with DJ Mano, who accused the singer of calling him a racial slur in 2013.
This may be the thing that Katy Perry needs to keep her relevant. After all, being a judge on “American Idol” helped revitalize the career of Jennifer Lopez whose own pop career had stalled before joining the judge’s panel, and “The Voice” helped make judges Gwen Stefani and Christina Aguiera a household name again. Before today’s news, some of Katy’s fans had been questioning whether Katy should do a Vegas residency much like Britney Spears and Mariah Carey, but a gig on television would definitely remind the general public that Katy was once a star.
No word yet on what the network is willing to pay Katy, but industry insiders caution that having an A-list star with a huge salary demand could actually sink the show. One of the things that led to the demise of “American Idol” was the fact that the producers were paying the judges huge salaries because they wanted “big name celebs” on the panel.
But despite the famous names in the judges’ seats, the ratings just didn’t justify what they were being paid and the network decided “American Idol” had become a ‘money pit’ and decided to axe the show instead. The show isn’t set to air until 2018, so we will have to wait and see if ABC made the right call with the reboot – but as of now it’s getting plenty of buzz. Come back to CDL to keep up with all the American Idol news and updates!
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