Chris Daughtry is proud enough of his American Idol roots that he's reportedly decided to join the show as a judge.

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Right on the heels of reports Katy Perry is in talks with producers to judge contestants on American Idol's revival when it airs in early 2018, according to an Us Weekly source, Daughtry has inked a contract to sit on the judging panel. 

Daughtry competed on American Idol's fifth season in 2006, and he finished in fourth place. That year, Taylor Hicks was named the winner and Katharine McPhee finished as the runner-up.

However, Daughtry went on to find great success in the rock world. The 37-year-old "It's Not Over" singer has sold the third most records of any contestant that has ever competed on American Idol, which previously aired 15 seasons on Fox although ABC will stage its comeback.

"They wanted a panel of all ex contestants," another insider told Us. "Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood and Jennifer Hudson were all on their wish list."

While it seems like a long shot Underwood -- the winner of Idol's fourth season -- would join American Idol's reboot on ABC in light of her current icon status in country music, NBC announced last week Clarkson and Hudson have actually made deals to star on upcoming seasons of The Voice, a rival reality singing competition.

Hudson, a finalist on Season 3 of American Idol, will appear on The Voice next season with Miley Cyrus, Blake Shelton, and Adam Levine in Fall 2017. Clarkson, Idol's original champion, will serve as a coach on Season 14 of The Voice in 2018.

ABC announced earlier this month it had picked up American Idol after Fox had aired the alleged final episode of the ground-breaking series in April 2016, which marked Idol's fifteenth installment. Trent Harmon was crowned the winner of American Idol's so-called "farewell season."

Disney executive Ben Sherwood had said in a May 9 statement: "Idol is an entertainment icon, and now it will air where it belongs, in ABC's lineup of addictive fan favorites alongside Dancing with the Stars and The Bachelor. America, get ready for the return of a bigger, bolder and better-than-ever Idol."

NBC had also announced the women's involvement with The Voice less than a week after ABC confirmed American Idol's return -- and only a couple of days after reports surfaced Clarkson was Idol producers' top choice to judge contestants on the ABC revival.

It's possible ABC views Clarkson and Hudson's The Voice participation as a shun given both singers kicked off their careers on American Idol.

Fox initially pulled the plug on Idol because it became too expensive to produce with stars like Jennifer Lopez, Keith Urban and Steven Tyler on the judging panel as well as Ryan Seacrest serving as host.

Perry, Daughtry and Seacrest's potential involvement, however, probably won't come cheap!

Seacrest hosted all previous 15 seasons of American Idol and is known to be the heart of the reality singing competition. Despite his busy career now that he's co-hosting Live with Kelly and Ryan alongside Kelly Ripa in New York City, TMZ claims it's "almost certain" he'll be coming back to Idol, which is filmed in Los Angeles.

ABC will confirm Perry as a new Idol judge this week, according to TMZ, so maybe Daughtry's reported participation will be confirmed as well.


About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski

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