Bobby Bones leaving American Idol, will not return for season 20

American Idol

When American Idol season 20 arrives at ABC, it will be without an in-house mentor in Bobby Bones.

In a recent now-expired post on his Instagram Stories, the radio personality explained why he hasn’t been featured in any of the promotional material for the upcoming season:

“Some of you noticed I’m not in the Idol promos this season. My contract [with] my new network won’t let me do another show right now. Love Idol, btw. Was a great 4 years.”

Could this change down the road for future seasons? Possibly, but we wouldn’t bank on anything for the time being. The show will go on as is, and we wouldn’t be altogether shocked if we end up seeing American Idol move over to a rotating panel of mentors in the future if they decide to move forward in that route.

Of course, there is another thing to remember here in that even without Bones (who does have invaluable experience in the industry), these contestants still have access to quality musicians, producers, and a number of other people they can look to on the road to stardom. He will be missed, but not all hope is lost for the upcoming crop of hopefuls. Bobby is getting an opportunity to do some other things, and it does feel like these are things that he is immensely excited for.

American Idol season 20 is currently slated to premiere on Sunday, February 27, which is just on the other side of the Winter Olympics. Hopefully, we have a lot of memorable performers this season, including some that have a chance at a legitimate future in the world of music.

Related Be sure to get some more news when it comes to American Idol right now

What are you the most excited to see when it comes to American Idol season 20?

Are you going to miss Bobby? Be sure to share right now in the attached comments! Once you do that, remember to stick around for some more updates that you don’t want to miss. (Photo: ABC.)

This article was written by Jess Carter. Be sure to follow her on Twitter.

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