Katy Perry's Dramatic Departure From 'American Idol' Has a Definite Upside

"Teenage Dream" singer Katy Perry left American Idol after seven seasons. The star's debut on the show during Season 16 was incredibly well received by fans and she only continued to grow on the loyal American Idol community.

When Katy announced that she would be leaving after Season 22, fans were absolutely heartbroken. However, when one door closes, another opens. Her fans, Katy Cats, might just be thrilled to see what's up next.

Katy left some farewell remarks for the fans. "My parting words are thank you America. I know sometimes I put my foot in my mouth, sometimes I'm a little polarizing. Sometimes I just shoot from the hip. But I love you and I learned and I grew and, what I really do is shoot from the heart," she said, according to ABC7

"It's been an amazing journey, all seven seasons, thank you for inviting me into your homes, letting your kids watch even though you were probably a little nervous with it being me," she added. "I love America and I'm so excited to go back out to all of America to tour one of these days soon."

With those kind, reflective words, Katy also let slip a major clue — a tour! By leaving the show, she'll be able to finally hit the road, something fans have been begging for.

So, it looks like she made the difficult decision to leave the show to focus on her own career. In fact, Katy even has a new album on the horizon. Her fans can't wait!

Katy hasn't released music since her 2020 album, Smile. This time, Katy admitted that she wanted to be in the right space to create her art. “I just have yet to make a record from a place of feeling really happy and whole and full of love,” she told Access Hollywood.

"Sometimes artists are like, ‘Oh, that’s boring, you want to make music from kind of like a tougher place,’ but actually it’s very bright and joyful, like pure joy and fun and playful and celebratory and a party," she added, giving fans a hint into what the new LP might sound like.

The album might be sooner than fans think, too. Katy started dishing out Easter eggs, including a tiny detail during a red carpet walk. While arriving at the red carpet for the Breakthrough Prize event, she carried a clear bag with her.

If fans looked closely, they could see a piece of paper which said "KP6: Top Secret" in a familiar, branded font. So, it looks like she's starting to hard launch a project just as her time on American Idol ended.

If it were up to Katy to pick her replacement, she would surely be tapping breakthrough country star Jelly Roll. "I gotta say, Jelly Roll was crazy when he came on the show," she told E! News. "I was convinced at anything he said. He could run for president. He could be my pastor. I might go back to church for him. He could sell me anything."

While the network has yet to confirm who will be taking the seat as of writing, Jelly did say he's totally down to accept it. "I'd go clean the ‘American Idol’ toilets if they wanted me to — I'm in," he told the publication.