Who Will Replace Katy Perry as a Judge on 'American Idol'?

Katy Perry

Season 7 of American Idol on ABC (Season 22 overall) is destined to be Katy Perry’s final season as a judge on the singing competition—at least for now— by her own words on Jimmy Kimmel Live!

Then she announced on Good Morning America, that, yes, she is taking a break but then when asked about her replacement, she teased that they should just "keep my seat warm."

The heavy lifting for the judges is done for this season of American Idol. They selected the Top 24 and then turned the voting over to America. Sure, they will still show up each week to critique the performances and nudge America in what they see as the right direction, but that’s much easier than whittling down 140 artists who made it to Hollywood to just 24.

Related: Katy Perry Makes Wild Assertion on Who Should Replace Her on American Idol

In its history, American Idol has always had at least one female judge on the panel, and since the two remaining judges—Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan— are both male, we’re only going to consider women as possible replacements.

Who Will Replace Katy Perry as a Judge on 'American Idol'?

One major name that is being bandied about is Taylor Swift, but we hardly think that the “Tortured Poets Department” singer has time to fit American Idol into her schedule, especially since The Eras Tour won’t wind down until this December.

Jennifer Lopez

But possibly former Idol judge Jennifer Lopez can fit Idol into her schedule. Not only has she previously judged the show in 2011 and 2012, so she has the necessary experience and credibility, but she said at that time that the show was “good” for her, so she, hopefully, has positive memories.

Miley Cyrus

Miley Cyrus is another name that keeps popping up and she would definitely be a draw, especially if ABC is looking to attract younger viewers. But the concern with Miley is that she is a straight shooter, which could cause problems. Look at the difficulty that Katy Perry has had on social media with a few of her comments.

In addition to Jennifer, previous Idol female judges have included Paula Abdul, Ellen DeGeneres, Nicki Minaj, Mariah Carey, and Kara DioGuardi. None of them seem right for the current iteration of Idol, although Paula would bring the nostalgia factor with her and she did do a guest pop in.

Kelly Clarkson

But previous Idol contestants and winners could be a consideration. Kelly Clarkson immediately comes to mind, but she gave up coaching on The Voice to move her talk show to New York, and Idol is just as time consuming as The Voice, so it is safe to cross her off the list. Jennifer Hudson would also be on that list, but like, Kelly, she is tied to her talk show in New York City.

Shakira

Shakira is another possibility. She did a season on The Voice, so she’s not a stranger to critiquing other talent. The question is with a new album just released last month would she see Idol as an excellent way to promote it or as something that would interfere with a possible tour?

Related: American Idol Results Tonight: Who Went Home and Who Made the Top 14?

Meghan Trainor

We also shouldn’t rule out Meghan Trainor. Meghan served as a judge on the short-lived The Four: Battle for Stardom, so she has the experience and her songs have been covered on the show, so she is someone the contestants would look up to.

Tori Kelly

Tori Kelly did an excellent job of mentoring this season’s contestants for the Top 24 show in Hawaii. A former Idol contestant, she understands what the wannabes are going through, as does Jordin Sparks, who has returned previously to serve as a mentor and could be on the short list as Katy’s replacement.

The one person we are pretty sure we can cross off the list is the one that Katy herself proposed: Jelly Roll. As terrific as he was with the contestant when he split mentoring duties this season with Tori Kelly for the Top 24, adding him would make it an all-male judging panel.

American Idol airs Sundays and Mondays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC and streams next day on Hulu.

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