Luke Bryan Says Katy Perry Is 'Pretty Close' to Giving Birth (Exclusive)
The singer also opened up to ET about the upcoming season of 'American Idol' and his new album.
Katy Perry is nearly ready to welcome her baby girl -- according to Luke Bryan. The country crooner and American Idol judge tells ET that the big day is right around the corner.
"I didn't know the exact due date ... so I texted her like, 'Hey, just so I can kind of wrap my head around when to really start thinking about you guys and saying prayers and everything,' so she let me know the due date," Bryan shares. "She's pretty close."
"I told her I'm probably gonna send her little girl maybe, like, a little pink BB gun," Bryan adds with a laugh. "An old country boy version of little baby girl gifts. Pink camo and a pink BB gun."
If Perry -- who is expecting her first child with Orlando Bloom -- returns as a judge for American Idol season 4, she'll be a new mom amid production, and Bryan says they are "still in negotiations" a week before virtual auditions kick off next week.
"I am going to speak for myself that I certainly want to be at the judges' table and it is something I love doing," Bryan says. "I love being on the ground floor of these artists coming in and watching these dreams start to come true and I think American Idol is really really important for music."
"Being there with Lionel [Richie] and Katy, our chemistry is so natural, so real, so fun and I wouldn't miss being at that judges' table for the world," Bryan adds. "We are just trying to figure out… we are just making sure we are getting our format of doing the show [right] and we are excited about building it."
American Idol had to switch to remote performances and virtual feedback for the second half of season 3 earlier this year due to the coronavirus outbreak. In the interest of health and safety, the show will reportedly continue to feature remote and virtual auditions out of an abundance of caution for the crew, cast and contestants.
"The network and everyone will do everything to keep the kids safe and everybody that works on the show," Bryan says. "I'm excited to see what they come up with. They're very creative and, like I said, creating the show we were able to put out there was amazing. I think it was, under the circumstances, we were able to showcase these kids to the best of our ability."
Meanwhile, Bryan's seventh studio album, Born Here Live Here Die Here, is dropping this week, and the album's single, "One Margarita," became Bryan's 25th No. 1 hit on the U.S. Country Music charts back in April. It's also the third single off the album to reach that spot after "Knockin' Boots" and "What She Wants Tonight."
"I'm really, really blessed to be putting an album out that's already had three number ones," Bryan says. "Two of the three… are kind of party songs. So I'm learning, in my after years in the business, that people like when I sing party songs."
Looking back at the general theme of his latest album, Bryan explains, "It's about growing up in a small town, tipping my hat and paying homage to those people," and that the album is more than just the party songs that have been radio hits.
"I wanted to have some love songs on there. I wanted to have some heartbreak songs and some emotional stuff," Bryan says of the record, which was originally going to come out in April but was pushed back due to the pandemic. "I'm just excited for the fans to get it. I hope they enjoy it."
Born Here Live Here Die Here drops on Friday.
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