The announcement was formerly made by ABC during a presentation held in New York on Tuesday.
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| Wikimedia Commons |
Katy seemed to be excited about officially joining the show as a judge, “I am honored and thrilled to be the first judge bringing back the American Idol tradition of making dreams come true for incredible talents with authentic personalities and real stories,” she said in a statement. “I’m always listening to new music, and love discovering diamonds in the rough – from mentoring young artists on my label, or highlighting new artists on my tours, I want to bring it back to the music.”
The news comes after former American Idol alumni Kelly Clarkson was announced as new judge for the upcoming season of NBC’s The Voice earlier this month, which was a set-back for ABC as it was in talks to involve Clarkson on their show. NBC also managed to sign another ex-American Idol contestant Jennifer Hudson for their upcoming season.
Katy will reportedly be paid a whopping $10-$15 million for participating on the show. The singer also has her album, ‘Witness’ lined up for release on June 9 accompanied by a world tour scheduled to begin on September, as confirmed by the popstar this past week.