This was posted on Saturday, September 2, 2017 by RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com on his AJC Radio & TV Talk blog
The perpetual hunt for "American Idol" judges for the ABC reboot has dragged on into its fourth month. Katy Perry was the first celebrity named to the panel on May 17. More than 107 days later, the discussions and negotiations continue and TMZ says Luke Bryan has been offered a gig.
Bryan's name has come up before. The amiable Georgia country superstar has dozens of hits from "Drink a Beer" to "Country Girl" to "That's My Kind of Night." He would complement Blake Shelton on "The Voice."
TMZ offered no indication whether Bryan would say yes or no.
The clock is ticking. ABC will start taping celebrity auditions in about a month. The show is scheduled to air in March, 2018.
It's clear the early leak that Perry was paid in the neighborhood of a whopping $25 million has clearly hindered the producers' ability to fill the rest of the panel without shelling out a lot more money they may not necessarily want to spend. The news almost cost the show Ryan Seacrest as host. He ultimately signed on for significantly less than Perry but about how much Fox had paid him.
Other names that have been floated include Lionel Richie, Charlie Puth and Keith Urban, who was on the previous incarnation.
