American Idol 16: Ryan Seacrest confirms return; Katy Perry chimes in

For anyone who had any doubt out there regarding Ryan Seacrest’s return to American Idol, it’s finally 100% official. This morning on Live! with Kelly and Ryan, Kelly Ripa officially announced that he will be back. It’s a very happy announcement, but there is a surprising amount of emotion and introspection through in here as Ryan recounts first auditioning for the gig so many years ago while Kelly tells him that nobody else could do that job with the confidence and the joy that he does it. It’s a beautiful thing to see Ryan back in charge of making the show work, not that we ever really doubted he would be back.

For the longest time, the big hangup was a financial one, given that there was a shocking amount of hesitancy on the part of the show for them to give Seacrest what he very clearly deserved based on what we’ve seen from him in terms of his body of work. Part of that was also due to the fact that they dumped a massive mountain of money on Katy Perry to be a judge and they only had so much to work with financially.

In a statement to go along with this video, Seacrest added the following:

“It’s genuinely hard to put into words what American Idol means to me. I’m so grateful for the show and all the career and life opportunities it’s allowed me to experience. It’s been an incredible journey from day one. To be asked to return this year, at my new home at ABC, is an honor, if not a bit surreal. I believe ABC is the perfect home for Idol, and I’ve every confidence the show’s legions of fans will love it – especially Idol‘s best traditions of showcasing heartwarming stories, remarkable talent discovery, and, best of all, making dreams come true.”

Meanwhile, ABC’s programming head in Channing Dungey added the following:

“So much of American Idol‘s overwhelming success can be attributed to Ryan, whose larger-than-life personality and laudable dedication to creating quality entertainment has made him a true master of his craft. His talent is limitless, and I can’t think of a more appropriate person to honor the Idol legacy as it takes on new life than the man who has been there through it all.”

In closing, you can also see a brief statement from Perry on Twitter as she hypes up both Ryan’s hire and encouraging other prospective singers to audition. This is a show that is, after all, actually about the contestants and without them getting these people to take part, there really is no other show at all. It’s just a bunch of talking heads.

In the end, kudos to ABC for bringing Ryan back, since it gives the show the best chance to succeed. Whether or not this actually happens, given that singing shows have been over-saturated for years now, remains to be seen. (Photo: ABC.)