American Idol Judges Weigh in on Disadvantages and Advantages of First-Ever Remote Show: '[We're] All About Fairness'

The show must go on!

During Sunday’s first-ever remote episode of American Idol, fans watched as longtime host Ryan Seacrest, judges Lionel Richie, Katy Perry, and Luke Bryan, and the top 20 contestants put on a show from the comfort of their own homes amid the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

American Idol is all about fairness, so we sent everyone a kit that had same mics, the same set, the same lights,” Perry, 35, told reporters during a conference call after the show. “It was up to the talent. They had the option to perform with their own instruments or utilize our music director from afar.”

“The disadvantages would be that they don’t get the opportunity to play off of an audience,” the mom-to-be added. “They have to look into the lens of the camera as though it is an excited audience. They don’t get to flex that muscle. There’s a lot of time delay, there’s a lot of patience that we have to practice when we’re speaking, and the reactions can’t come as off the cuff as they do in a live setting. All things considered, I would say with all the circumstances, I think we’re really proud of it.”




“I’m a feelings person, and I always have been before this period of my life,” said Perry, who shared the news that she was pregnant on March 5, cradling her baby belly in the music video for her song, “Never Worn White.”

“I’m always looking to not just hear the song [but] to feel the song, and when a contestant gives me chill bumps or like lights up like my back or my cheeks or physically moves me and I viscerally feel it is when I know that they have something special. It’s a physical reaction,” she said. “So I’ve always been this way. I think it hasn’t been dialed up or dialed down necessarily, but yeah, I’m always rooting for more of a physical reaction. I wear my heart on my sleeve. I’m an emotional person. I don’t mind crying. I don’t mind showing emotion like that. I think that’s a good thing.”

American Idol airs Sundays and Mondays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.

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