{"id":22693,"date":"2026-05-02T07:02:46","date_gmt":"2026-05-02T07:02:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/grow24.us\/?p=22693"},"modified":"2026-05-02T07:02:46","modified_gmt":"2026-05-02T07:02:46","slug":"could-katy-perry-finally-return-to-american-idol-as-a-guest-judge-after-nearly-two-years-away-from-the-show","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/grow24.us\/?p=22693","title":{"rendered":"Could Katy Perry Finally Return to American Idol as a Guest Judge After Nearly Two Years Away From the Show?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tvinsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/katy-perry-idol-1-1014x570.jpg\" alt=\"American Idol': Will Katy Perry Be a Guest Judge? Her Quotes About Exit &amp;  Possible Return\" \/><\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s been almost two years since\u00a0Katy Perry\u00a0wrapped up her tenure as a judge on\u00a0<em>American Idol<\/em>. The pop star joined the show when it was revamped on ABC for Season 16, and she stayed on as a judge with\u00a0Luke Bryan\u00a0and\u00a0Lionel Richie\u00a0for seven seasons\u00a0before departing\u00a0in 2024.<\/p>\n<div class=\"code-block code-block-4\"><\/div>\n<p>Now, the singing competition is nearing the end of its second season without Perry (Carrie Underwood\u00a0took her\u00a0place on the judges\u2019 panel). Season 24 has had some epic guest judges so far (Keke Palmer,\u00a0Nikki Glaser, and\u00a0Jennifer Hudson), and\u00a0Paula Abdul\u00a0is already lined up to return for the penultimate episode on May 4.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/akns-images.eonline.com\/eol_images\/Entire_Site\/202438\/cr_1200x1200-240408132017-GettyImages-1252515418.jpg?fit=around%7C1200:1200&amp;output-quality=90&amp;crop=1200:1200;center,top\" alt=\"Who Katy Perry Wants to Replace Her on American Idol\" \/><\/p>\n<p>But could Perry herself return to the show in some capacity, perhaps as a guest judge, in the future? Scroll down for everything we know.<\/p>\n<div class=\"code-block code-block-5\"><\/div>\n<p>As of now, no plans have been announced to have Perry return as a guest judge. However, when she first announced her exit, she didn\u2019t shut down the idea of returning in some capacity one day.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMaybe I\u2019ll come back if they\u2019ll have me one day,\u201d she said on\u00a0<em>Jimmy Kimmel Live!<\/em>\u00a0in February 2024. She reiterated this sentiment after the Season 22 finale three months later, telling\u00a0<em>Entertainment Tonight<\/em>, \u201cKeep the seat hot. Who knows? I loved everything I got to experience and learn.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In April 2025,\u00a0The U.S. Sun\u00a0reported that Perry was \u201cnot interested\u201d in coming back to the singing competition, but the singer did not confirm that statement herself.<\/p>\n<h2>Why did Katy Perry leave\u00a0<em>American Idol<\/em>?<\/h2>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/deadline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/American-Idol-5.jpg\" alt=\"American Idol': Judges Luke Bryan, Katy Perry, Lioniel Richie &amp; Host Ryan  Seacrest To Return For Season 6\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Perry left\u00a0<em>American Idol<\/em>\u00a0in 2024 to shift her focus back to her music career. She released her album\u00a0<em>143<\/em>\u00a0in September of that year, then hit the road on her\u00a0<em>Lifetimes<\/em>\u00a0tour in 2025.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI feel like I need to go out and feel that pulse to my own beat,\u201d Perry explained during the\u00a0<em>Jimmy Kimmel Live!<\/em>\u00a0interview. \u201cI love the show so much, but I wanna go and see the world and maybe bring new music.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She later reiterated to\u00a0<em>ET<\/em>\u00a0that she was just wanting to \u201cmake space for other things\u201d in her life. \u201cIt\u2019s not like me ending this show means I\u2019m going to go retire on an island, even though that would be fabulous. I\u2019m gonna go to work,\u201d Perry added.<\/p>\n<h2>What is Katy Perry doing now?<\/h2>\n<p>Perry wrapped up her\u00a0<em>Lifetimes<\/em>\u00a0tour in 2025, but will be premiering the tour\u2019s concert film in June 2026 at the Tribeca Film Festival. She also released the song \u201cBandaids\u201d in November 2025 following her breakup from\u00a0Orlando Bloom.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/variety.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/170255_4037-e1707806599266.jpg?w=1000&amp;h=563&amp;crop=1\" alt=\"Katy Perry Leaving'American Idol' After This Season\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Shortly after the song dropped, Perry confirmed she was dating former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. They are still together nearly six months later. Perry is also a mother to daughter Daisy, whom she shares with Bloom.<\/p>\n<p>In April 2026, Perry came under fire after actress\u00a0Ruby Rose\u00a0accused her of sexual assault. Rose claimed that the incident happened in Australia in 2010, and officials confirmed that the Melbourne Sexual Offences and Child Abuse Investigation Team was addressing the allegations, per\u00a0CNN. There is no statute of limitations in Australia.<\/p>\n<p>Perry\u2019s rep denied the accusations. \u201cThe allegations being circulated on social media by Ruby Rose about Katy Perry are not only categorically false, they are dangerous, reckless lies,\u201d the rep said in a statement. \u201cMs. Rose has a well-documented history of making serious public allegations on social media against various individuals, claims that have repeatedly been denied by those named.\u201d The investigation is ongoing.<\/p>\n<p><em><strong>American Idol<\/strong><\/em><strong>, Season 24, Mondays, 8\/7c, ABC<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It\u2019s been almost two years since\u00a0Katy Perry\u00a0wrapped up her tenure as a judge on\u00a0American Idol. The pop star joined the show when it was revamped on ABC&#8230; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":22694,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22693","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/grow24.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22693","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/grow24.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/grow24.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grow24.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grow24.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=22693"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/grow24.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22693\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22695,"href":"https:\/\/grow24.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22693\/revisions\/22695"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grow24.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/22694"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/grow24.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=22693"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grow24.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=22693"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grow24.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=22693"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}