It feels like an eternity since Katy Perry took her leave from American Idol judging.
Recently, an article on Life & Style reveals that Miley Cyrus leads the pack of contenders to take Katy Perry's spot on American Idol. Moreover, their sources reveal that the interest is mutual and that Miley loves the competition style of the show. "Miley really does love the competition space," one insider states. "She has a lot more fun judging and mentoring than she has in her various forays into acting as an adult. And she also knows her fans actually show up to watch her on these shows."
This makes sense given her previous ties to The Voice. Now, she may get the opportunity to judge and mentor young acts in their forays into the music industry. However, if American Idol wishes to nab Miley's talents, they're going to have to cough up a blank check and go from there.
Nabbing Miley Cyrus for American Idol Won't Come Cheap for The Network
Disney and ABC are clearly trying to cut costs around the margins with this new hire. Of course, they don't want to skimp either. American Idol needs a famous, credible figure. Conversely, they also don't want to get into deep waters over contract payments like they did with Katy Perry. "The big issue hanging over Katy's mostly successful run on Idol has been the enormous paycheck she managed to negotiate from the start of her judging term that only increased incrementally in the years since," one source explains. "With Katy finally getting back to making music full-time, Disney and ABC are looking to replace her with just as famous a name at a somewhat discounted price."
This is where American Idol ultimately lands on Miley Cyrus. Clearly, they view her on par with Katy in terms of name recognition. But ideally, they think Cyrus' price point will be a little more forgiving than Perry's. "Nobody expects Miley to do this cheaply, but nobody at the network wants to pay Katy prices for Katy's replacement," the insider continues. "The show absolutely has to get a little bit cheaper no matter who joins the cast because the ratings are slowly declining. That's just the fact of the matter."
Eventually, we'll see what the direction is for American Idol.
