It’s been twenty-one years sinceAmerican Idolbegan on FOX before moving to ABC, and since it began,Ryan Seacresthas been the host of the famous talent show, which looks for singing talents across America. In a chat withETonline, Seacrest talks about his time on the unscripted singing competition series.
After twenty-one years, Seacrest says he is still happy to be hosting theAmerican Idol, adding that he likes the live shows. The judges,Katy Perry, Lionel Richie,andLuke Bryanalso join Seacrest during the interview to talk about their relationship as a group after six years of working on the show together. Perry, Richie, and Bryan joinedAmerican Idolwhen the show moved to ABC for Season 16 in 2018.
The group gushed about their working relationship, describing how well they have meshed as colleagues over the years. Seacrest revealed that everyone in the group works well together, with Richie adding how their relationship as a group changed, saying:
“We’re in our sixth season together. This is more of a statement. How crazy is it to think we’ve been doing this for six years already, and we’re still able to put up with each other? Everybody enjoys everybody.”
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Richie went on to add:
“Can I be honest with you? I think it’s good. I love it because now we kinda know we can kinda go further with playing with each other. We were trying to be a little bit on the edge of polite, but now it’s just full-on war.”
After six years of traveling across America together to discover talent, it is no surprise that the judges and Seacrest have formed an amazing bond while enjoying each other’s company. According to Perry, her favorite thing about being on the road with the group is their relationship and the tour of the cities they visit.
“Just that familiarity between us. Finding incredible talent. Discovering incredible talent and going to these really cool cities we get to go to.”
The long-running singing competition has had fourteen different judges, a network swap and two different hosts, with Seacrest co-hosting the first season alongsideBrian Dunkleman.
Season 21 of the talent show and ABC’s sixth season premiered on August 22, 2025. Check out a clip from the latest episode below:
