Luke Bryan Did Not Know Katy Perry Was Leaving ‘Idol’
Katy Perry announced last night (2/11) while appearing on Jimmy Kimmel Live that after seven years of American Idol, she is leaving the show. Katy told Kimmel, “I think this probably will be my last show, my last season for Idol. 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 also told Jimmy that her fellow Idol judges Luke Bryan and Lionel Richie did not know she was leaving and they would “find out tonight” on Kimmel.
Luke hasn’t yet commented on his friend leaving the show, but we interviewed him recently, and he said of his fellow Idol judges, “When we’re at the desk on American Idol, we’re really there using our hearts behind that desk. We really think with our hearts a lot. We’re not there for egos and bettering our careers.”
Bryan added of Lionel, “Lionel is just one of the most legendary humans ever. He teaches you that every day, you’ve got to wake up and be what you are. We joke because Lionel Richie wakes up, and he looks in the mirror, and says, ‘I’m Lionel Richie.’ He treats everyone like he’s known you for a hundred years.”
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In the same interview, Luke told me what he learned from his famous fellow judges. He said of Katy, “When you meet someone like Katy, and you look, and she’s got 200 million Instagram followers, and she is literally a global icon that has to deal with global icon things.”
He adds, “The world of country music is obviously always getting bigger and more globally accepted, and it’s been amazing, but when you get around someone like Katy and even Lionel too… they’ve taught me how to be humble and be global superstars.”
Bryan concluded of his friend, “All the negativity I get through the years and the positivity and all that, and Katy’s is so multiplied by a million just because of being a female pop star on a global stage and the fact that she’s gotten through this business with a great heart. She’s fun to be around, more energetic, and the life of the party. She’s a great person.”
Five Country Stars That Are Licensed Pilots
Alan Jackson
Country Music Hall of Fame member Jackson was flying to and from gigs early in his career and learned how to fly by watching and learning from the pilot. He told us, “When I started flying to work, I got interested in watching the pilot who flew me, and he taught me. At that time, we had a farm with a pretty big grass strip, and I had a plane with amphibious gear so I could land on water, the lake. I just kind of flew around Nashville. I still have my license; I just don’t fly. Denise (his wife) got tired of my flying and worrying about me.”
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