Katy Perry To Earn $25m As ‘American Idol’ Judge

Katy Perry's got millions of new reasons to sing all the way to the bank - because she's taking home a massive paycheck for "American Idol." The "Firework" singer is set to earn $25 million from ABC as a judge on the recently revived reality singing competition, TMZ reports. Executives at ABC - which won a bidding war earlier this month to bring back "American Idol" - wanted to secure a big-name personality for the show ahead of last week's upfront presentations.

"Katy had all the leverage. If ABC ended up announcing the show without a judge, they'd be screwed," a source familiar with the situation told TMZ. The producers behind "American Idol" had previously tried to bring Perry on as a judge in 2012, when the series still aired on Fox, but Perry turned down a $20 million offer, according to the gossip website.

Perry, 32, was officially announced as the first judge for ABC's version of "American Idol" early last week.