Luke Bryan Jokes That He Wants ‘180 Million’ For Idol Season 3

American Idol Season 3 on ABC has been confirmed, according to Deadline, but there's no word yet on who the three judges will be.

Country fans are hoping that Luke Bryan will be one of those judges and he hopes that the other two will be his fellow judges,  Lionel Richie and Katy Perry.

Luke said of Season 2, "The most exciting thing has been the talent this year. And we feel like the top ten could just leave and become special artists."

He also said that the eventual Idol has a lot of work ahead of them: "There's no way around [it]: you have to go earn it at some point."

Bryan also joked about his pay for season 3: "Yeah just for the record they have agreed to pay me 180 million dollars," he laughed.  "And yeah you know we liked that number, we're thinking it's in the ballpark. You know there's some wardrobe thing they've been pushing back on but 180 millionish is good for me that'll get me on Southwest to get out there."

Getting a bit more serious, he says, "Obviously coming back... I could not be prouder of what we have put on TV. I can tangibly hold my head high. It's something that I enjoy doing and it's something that I work hard at."

While he's a big star in country music, American Idol has made him an even bigger celebrity: he told us that these days, he is recognized everywhere he goes, noting that a New York Cab driver may not know his music, but he knows him from Idol.

-Nancy Brooks