Luke Bryan and American Idol Will Say Goodbye to Katy Perry during Sunday’s Finale

The season finale of American Idol is coming to a close on Sunday (May 19th), and it will be a bittersweet ending as Katy Perry is leaving the judges’ table after seven years. Luke Bryan and fellow judge Lionel Richie will be emotional about her departure, for sure, as they’ve all become quite close. Katy tells ET her after-show celebration with Luke will involve some adult beverages. “I’m gonna stay present and take it all in and then have a little after-party and Luke [Bryan] and I will finally drink. After seven years, we’ll really drink.”

Luke says he’s not sure yet who Katy’s replacement will be, and since it’s an annual deal, he still hasn’t made a decision on his future yet.

“The relationship with Katie that we’ve had – me and Lionel and Ryan and the show – has been amazing. I don’t know any info on who may be her potential replacement, but it’s a fun thing to be a part of,” says Luke. “I think Katie, you know, I think she’s probably launching world tours and stuff where she goes around the world, and so she probably had to make a decision several months out to get in front of her plans. So, yeah, I kind of roll in, we’ll know how the show’s doing and typically everybody’s really fired up at Disney and ABC about it, so we’ll make that decision. Hadn’t made it yet.”

He’s still having fun on the show, but he adds, “I kind of treat American Idol like I do my music career. As long as the show feels like the show is reinventing itself and as long as it looks fresh and fun and I know we’re really doing positive things, it’s gonna always be something that I really consider doing.”

Sunday’s three-hour Season 22 finale will feature the Top 3 contestants — Abi Carter, Jack Blocker and Will Moseley — as well as performances from all three judges, finale mentor Jon Bon Jovi, Hootie & the Blowfish, Wynonn Judd, Cody Johnson, New Kids on the Block, CeCe Winans and Jason Mraz, among others.

Catch the finale — and Katy’s last show —  on Sunday (May 19th) at 8pm ET/7pm CT on ABC.

In the meantime, Luke’s latest single “Love You, Miss You, Mean It” is climbing the country charts.

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