Luke Bryan: “Blake Shelton Helped Me Get on ‘American Idol’!” …Or Did He?
Trae Patton, NBC Reading Time: 2 minutes
In an interview with ET on the red carpet at the Academy of Country Music Awards last night, Luke Bryan spoke to host Nancy O’Dell and spilled some tea. He mentioned that Blake “helped me get on American Idol.” But is there any truth to that?
Here’s the clip of his full interview:
So is it actually true or just a joke? Interviewer Nancy O’Dell commented that Blake would take credit for it whether it was true was or not. In fact, she said that he had before! And while he hasn’t from our research, he almost for sure had some impact on the decision.
Here’s what really happened:
Blake Shelton and Luke Bryan are known to be really good friends. They’ve often joked with each other and given each other a hard time for being on rival talent shows. Blake even admitted that Luke never asked him for advice when he got the Idol gig, but Blake offered it anyway. According to him, that came in the form of negotiating for more money. But you can decide what that means and if it’s true or not!
So while Blake has never actually taken credit for Luke’s presence on Idol, Blake did pave the way for country stars to be on talent show panels. When he joined The Voice in 2011, he was the first country artist to join a show like that. Fans instantly loved him and gravitated toward him, proving that country artists could pull in the fans the way pop and rock artists do. And now, Blake has won more seasons of The Voice than any other coach!
But even before Blake’s reign of wins really began, The Voice started dominating the ratings. To adapt, American Idol had to change things up. Their response was to get rid of behind-the-scenes judges like Simon Cowell and Randy Jackson for more public music figures, like Jennifer Lopez, Mariah Carey, and (of course) Keith Urban. Once Idol ended on FOX, Luke Bryan was in talks almost right away for the ABC revival.
The Final Verdict?
While Blake hasn’t actually taken credit for Luke Bryan becoming a judge on American Idol, there is some truth to the fact that he helped him join the show. Blake Shelton will always be the original country talent show star. He paved the way for singers like Luke to be successful on TV!
