Will Lionel Richie Be Saying 'Hello' To American Idol?

Celebrity

Will Lionel Richie Be Saying 'Hello' To American Idol?

American Idol is coming back to television screens and we could not be more excited!

The revival will be coming back in the fall of 2017, and the main focus right now is figuring out who will be judging the contestants.

Currently, Simon Cowell is a judge on America's Got Talent, so he's not an option. Jennifer Lopez was a judge for a bit, but she has her own dance show now, so she's out.

There's always one judging position locked down, with Katy Perry signing a $25 million contract, reportedly just for one season.

Idol alum like Kelly Clarkson and Jennifer Hudson were rumored to be in the running, but both were snagged by NBC's The Voice for upcoming seasons.

With limited money after signing Perry, and limited options after losing Clarkson and Hudson, ABC is scrambling to find judges for their reboot.

One name running through the rumor mill for a seat at the judging table is a 5 time Grammy winner and 16 time nominee.

Lionel Richie has been targeted by Idol due to his legendary career, his overall popularity, and his natural ability to identify talent and trends.

TMZ reached out to Richie's people, but they have been pretty quiet on this front. If it's true, however, it could mean a huge boost in the audience. A lot of die-hard fans of the reality show stopped watching when the show stopped being about talent and started being solely about marketability.

Idol is also getting close to naming a host! Continue to the next page to see how those negotiations are proceeding.

The host of a show is almost as important as the judges and performers, especially so in the case of American Idol. When the revival was announced, there was a lot of speculation surrounding who might be the host. Ryan Seacrest had just been made co-host of Kelly Ripa on Live! With Kelly in New York City, so most people thought he was out of the running.

However, ABC sources are reporting that Seacrest will be signing a deal between $10 million and $15 million to return as host.

How this will work with his new Live! gig is still unclear, but we know one thing for sure...he's going to be an extremely busy and rich man!

Meagan has an intense love for Netflix, napping, and carbs.