American Idol season 16: Lionel Ritchie in contention to be judge
According to TMZ, Ritchie is being circled to be the second judge on the panel alongside Katy Perry, though it doesn’t seem as though any formal discussions have been made. He’s got a ton of music-industry credibility, and is the sort of living legend that prospective contestants would love to meet.
The big question that we do wonder is that in this age where the 18-49 demographic is king, whether or not there will be a large number of people pounding down the door in order to watch Ritchie on television in this age group. Will he attract an older crowd? Sure, but he’s been rumored for many different reality shows over the years. This is one of those cases where it’s a rumor, but one that easily may not end up being reality. There are too many variables to be considered, with salary probably being high on the list. Ritchie is a guy who would command a good bit of money to do the show, and over $35 million is apparently going to be spent in between judge Katy Perry and host Ryan Seacrest. (Ryan’s participation in the show is not official as of yet, but signs seem to point towards his return.)
There will be three judges once again for the new season, and our hope personally is that the show brings in a music-industry professional and someone who really looks at things from a recording angle. Artists often are extremely nice, even though we expect Perry to be pretty honest, and it’d be nice to have someone who can give the contestants a little more advice if they want to become successful performers after the fact. This is one of the issues that we find with The Voice — because no one ever tells anyone what they’re doing wrong, they leave the show with an inflated sense of self and often don’t grow as an artist over the season. (Sure, there are other issues there as well, but there needs to be more of a critical perspective taken with these singers.)
American Idol season 16 will premiere in 2018 on ABC.
Do you think that Ritchie is the right choice to be the next judge on American Idol? Share in comments below!
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