Meghan Trainor Reveals She 'Begged' for American Idol Judge Spot Following Katy Perry's Exit: 'My Dream Job'

Trainor appeared on 'Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen' on Wednesday, June 12, and discussed her ambitions to join the cast of the singing competition

Meghan Trainor attends the 2022 American Music Awards AMERICAN IDOL KATY PERRY
Meghan Trainor (left); Katy Perry. Photo:

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Could Meghan Trainor be the next American Idol judge?

On Wednesday, June 12, the singer, 30, appeared on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, and stated that she’d love to replace Katy Perry on the singing show, describing it as her “dream job.”

This comes after Perry, 39, revealed in February that she was leaving her role as a judge on the show due to wanting to focus on more projects, including music.

Asked if she’d had any official talks about joining the series after Luke Bryan and Ryan Seacrest said she’d be great as a judge, Trainor said, “I’ve done every interview in the world and said that that is my dream job and I have emailed three awesome people who work in that world." She further noted that those individuals "don’t really have the full say but I begged.”

“I have begged for this job,” she added. “I haven’t heard any updates so check my emails but that is my dream job. I want to drive to work American Idol and then drive home.”

The “All About That Bass” artist - who served as a judge on the television talent shows The Four: Battle for Stardom in 2018, The Voice UK in 2020 and Australian Idol in 2023 - went on to say that she loved watching people go from early auditions to becoming global superstars. 

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Meghan Trainor in Los Angeles on Aug. 27, 2023
Meghan Trainor in Los Angeles on Aug. 27, 2023.

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“Love being a part of that process, I just get way too attached,” Trainor said. “It’s like my favorite show, I’ve watched it since I was a child.”

“Call somebody, hello!,” she added after Cohen, 56, chimed, “We need to get you on that show. Luke!”

In April, American Idol host Seacrest, 49, told Entertainment Tonight, “She was very good. Meghan is a super talent too, and she's got a great sense of humor. She's fun and she's spontaneous."

"I think Meghan's always been real fun,” Bryan, 47, said. “You know, that's kinda been her brand, to have fun. [She's] real witty, so certainly."

Many stars, including the show’s first-ever winner Kelly Clarkson, have been tipped to replace Perry’s seat.

However, Clarkson, 42, revealed that she wouldn't be taking on the judging duties due to a promise she made to her children: daughter River Rose, 10, and son Remington "Remy" Alexander, 8, whom she shares with ex-husband Brandon Blackstock.

“No. No. I can’t do that, only because I promised my kids,” the daytime talk show host, 42, told Entertainment Tonight earlier this month. “I was like, ‘I wanna be there as much as I possibly can.’ And it would put me in L.A.”

Clarkson previously took part in The Voice, coaching hopeful new artists for nine seasons before stepping down in 2023 and relocating to New York.

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