Katy Perry has already proven she's worth her $25 million American Idol salary

TV Guide

"Katy Perry gives the reboot both the dazzle factor and gravitas it needed to work," says Malcolm Venable. "Katy Perry's animated, exaggerated pop persona make it natural to assume she'd bring her cheeky, squeaky fun to show and she does. But she also brings the realest critiques, and often leading the show's conversation rather than her male counterparts (which was par for course when Simon Cowell judged the og version). Could this be a chicken/egg situation, in which her male co-stars Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan knowingly accept that they're salary inferiors and get in line? Perhaps. But now that the show has aired, Katy is showing why she's worth the top earning slot: she's not only the most relevant pop culture figure on the panel in 2018, she's also the best judge." ALSO: Why Idol can't recapture its former glory.