There is no harmony on the “American Idol” set as Luke Bryan and Lionel Richie disagree on who should replace departing judge Katy Perry, a new report claimed.
“It’s turning into a real claw-fest now that Katy’s leaving,” an unnamed source told The National Enquirer.
The "Thinking of You" singer recently announced her departure from the show to pursue her "day job" as a musician. Since then, Luke and Lionel have been bickering over who should take her place.
“This has been a very stressful time for Luke and Lionel because they’ve been left in the dark about so much — there was even talk producers were going to start fresh with a whole new lineup and give them the boot. That hasn’t happened, so now the next worry is who will join the show,” the insider stated.
“Luke’s complaining Lionel’s trying to insert one of his favorites and hijack the show. Luke thinks the decision isn’t up to them, it’s the bosses who should decide, and he’s irritated that Lionel’s being so pushy behind the scenes,” the unidentified informant went on.
Richie has publicly stated that he wants a friendly face to join them at the judges' table. “I do have my eye on at least two,” the “All Night Long” hitmaker said.
“Lionel is constantly putting his two cents in to sway producers and saying they should get someone like Diana Ross, Kenny Chesney or Tim McGraw — if they’d agree to do it. All of them have collaborated with Lionel over the years and Luke thinks even if they agreed, it would put Lionel at an unfair advantage over him,” the tipster told the entertainment news outlet.
Coincidentally, Richie met Kelly Clarkson, the first “American Idol” winner, in April and believes she would be an ideal judge. "I didn't want to bring that up. Not only did I think about it, I slipped important notes. You know what I'm saying, Kelly, we've been together a long time,” he told Entertainment Tonight.
"Kelly, if you don't have anything else to do, I'd like to drop that out there. Big fan,” Richie said of the talk show host, who has previously served as a judge on “The Voice.” However, the “American Idol” judge did not stop there.
He chose to shoot for the stars, especially Taylor Swift, the biggest star out there right now. "By the way, Taylor, if you're available, we'd like to have you out here. Call me!" Richie said.
Meanwhile, producers are thought to welcome Luke and Richie’s constant squabbling over Katy’s replacement. “The bosses don’t seem to mind it. Their tension helps the competition on the show,” the mole furthered.
Both Luke Bryan and Lionel Richie have yet to comment on the claims about their alleged feud on the set of “American Idol” over Katy Perry’s replacement. So, avid followers of the show should take all these unverified reports with a grain of salt until everything is proven true and correct.
