American Idol: Katy Perry’s Salary & How Much Money She’s Made On Show

Since the series was rebooted by ABC in 2018, Katy Perry has become the highest-paid female American Idol judge of all time, which has significantly contributed to her net worth and overall wealth. Katy is one of the most successful pop stars in the music industry. With hits like “I Kissed A Girl”, “Firework”, and “Roar”, Katy Perry has released nine #1 songs on the Hot 100 chart from Billboard. She has also sold over 18 million albums and has toured the entire world to promote those projects.

When ABC decided to reboot the American Idol franchise in 2017 and started to seek out celebrity judges, producers coughed up a whopping $25 million to cast Katy Perry, as reported by Page Six. After she took that deal, Forbes listed Katy Perry as the highest-paid female musician, estimating that she had earned $83 million between 2017 and 2018. Katy’s $25 million salary on American Idol is per season, which means that the pop star has already earned $100 million from appearing on four seasons of the show. For reference, Mariah Carey was paid $18 million to be a judge on American Idol season 12, whereas Simon Cowell earned $36 million per season during his years judging the show.

As of 2021, Katy Perry and Orlando Bloom have been getting their $14 million mansion ready to welcome their first child. According to CelebrityNetWorth, Katy Perry currently has an estimated net worth of $330 million. Specifically, the latest Forbes estimates show that Katy is the 86th highest-paid celebrity in the world, having just earned $38.5 million in 2020. Like any other musician, most of Katy’s revenue streams are album and single sales, streaming royalties, merchandising, product endorsement, and tour tickets. In addition, Katy’s 2012 documentary Part of Me grossed $32.7 million at the box office.

Before becoming a mainstay judge on American Idol, the pop star also ventured out of music to launch her very own clothing brand, Katy Perry Collections. The company, which was founded in 2017, mostly sells shoes and handbags. Elsewhere, Katy Perry also voiced Smurfette in 2011’s The Smurfs and 2013’s The Smurfs 2, and appeared in films such as Zoolander 2 and Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping. Katy is one of the busiest people in showbiz, but her consistent work ethic has been very lucrative for her over the years. Overall, she has solidified herself as a true pop culture icon, and even performed at Joe Biden’s presidential inauguration ceremony in 2021.

The fans love watching Katy Perry as a reality TV judge, and ABC has shown no signs of slowing down when it comes to producing new seasons of American Idol. All signs point to the direction that Katy will be brought back for the inevitable season 20 of American Idol, and as time goes by, the pop star could even negotiate for a salary increase.

American Idol season 19 airs Sundays & Mondays at 8 pm ET/PT on ABC.

Sources: Page Six, Forbes, CelebrityNetWorth, Forbes

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Bernardo Sim
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Bernardo Sim writes about TV shows, queer culture, & Brazilian media. Born and raised in the Amazon, he now lives in South Florida. he/him

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