Music Producer Dr. Luke Getting Third Judge Spot On ‘American Idol’
Despite other names surfacing over the past week, I’ve learned that Dr. Luke is closing a deal to join Keith Urban and Jennifer Lopez as the third judge on the upcoming 13th season of Fox’s American Idol. Additionally, original Idol judge Randy Jackson continues negotiations to replace Jimmy Iovine as in-house mentor.
Related: Dr. Luke In Negotiations For ‘American Idol’ Judge Gig
When Dr. Luke’s name first surfaced as a leading contender for a judge gig on Idol, the news prompted headlines like “Dr. Who?” But while the general public may not be familiar with Dr. Luke, they are very familiar with a lot of his work.
Related: Jennifer Lopez’s ‘American Idol’ Return Is On, Says Boyfriend In Apparent Slip
Dr. Luke (real name Lukasz Gottwald) is one of the hottest producer-songwriters. He has more than 20 songs that have debuted atop the Billboard Hot 100, and his biggest hits include Kelly Clarkson’s “Since U Been Gone”, Flo Rida’s “Right Round”, Kei$ha’s “Tik Tok”, Katy Perry’s “California Gurls”, “I Kissed A Girl”, “Teenage Dream”, “Hot n Cold” and Part Of Me”, Taio Cruz’s “Dynamite”, Avril Lavigne’s “Girlfriend” and Britney Spears’ “Circus”. Dr. Luke actually is a familiar face to some TV buffs as he started off as lead guitarist on Saturday Night Live‘s house band.
And with Dr. Luke’s hire Idol is going back to its roots, betting on a unknown to the public top music producer as a judge — just as it did with Simon Cowell in 2002.
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