Katy Perry Announces She’s Leaving ‘American Idol’ After Nearly a Decade

Katy Perry announced she’ll be leaving American Idol after this current season, her seventh with the program. Perry revealed her exit from the show during a Monday evening appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! She's been a judge alongside Lionel Ritchie and Luke Bryan since Idol relaunched in 2018.

“Well, you know, this September, I’m going to be doing this huge music festival in Brazil called Rock in Rio,” Perry responded after Kimmel asked how long she planned to remain on the singing competition show. “It’s a big deal for people all over the world, especially my Brazilian fans,” she continued. “So, I think this will probably be my last show, my last season for Idol.”

As the audience logged their not-entirely-positive reaction to Perry’s announcement, the singer quickly began to do damage control. “I love Idol so much,” she told the crowd. “It’s connected me with, like, the heart of America. But I feel like I need to feel that pulse of my own beat, you know what I’m saying?” she said, winking broadly to indicate new music on the horizon.

“I have some things planned for this year. It’s going to be a very, very exciting year,” Perry teased. On whether or not Bryan and Ritchie were aware of her impending departure, Perry said: “They know, they know. I’ve been in the studio for a while, so they figured something was up.”

Perry later took to Instagram to officially confirm her retirement from American Idol in her signature tongue-in-cheek manner. "Let’s play two truths and a lie," she captioned the post.

"1. I beat @usher at Monopoly Deal.

"2. I’m headlining Rock in Rio this September.

"3. This is my last season on @americanidol."

Perry told Kimmel that part of her reason for leaving Idol after this season is to keep a certain symmetry with the original hosts—Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul, and Randy Jackson. “Simon, Paula, and Randy [also] had seven seasons,” Perry reasoned, before reiterating: “I love the show so much, but I want to go and see the world. And maybe bring new music.”