Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Ryan Seacrest with the new American Idol judging panel of Lionel Richie, Katy Perry and Luke Bryan (ABC Photo)

Katy Perry quickly dubbed herself Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan as “the dream team” for how quickly they jelled into a cohesive unit.

But Katy also promised that the first season of American Idol on ABC won’t be about them.

“What so great about this show …is that it’s really about the contestants,” she said. “We are secondary. We are just there to support. We really want to find someone we can give a lift-off too.”

The three new judges began evaluating talent Tuesday. Lionel and Luke both said they were impressed by the capabilities, especially of some of the youngest auditioners.

Of course, the show is hoping to launch the next superstar, something Katy said she thinks is possible, though it’s been quite a while singing a televised singing show has done that.

“I think there is still talent out there to be discovered,” she said. “We live in the age of the Internet. The music industry is constantly changing. It’s in flux right now.

“I think there are still stars and diamonds in the rough and I think the great American dream, we can revive that in a way and show people that if they have the talent, if they work really hard and if give them that lucky star — and the combination of those three things, maybe we can give them that little platform to shine.”

Time for some commentary:

1. If the show’s supposed to be about contestants, please tell the cameramen. On the last season of Idol, they were constantly turning the camera away from the performer and the performance we were supposed to be watching to closeups of Jennifer Lopez.

2. Please don’t become obsessed with the youngest talent. That really worries me about the Idol reboot because of the network’s relationship with Disney. The biggest problem with the final season of Idol was that the judges pushed youngsters with potential into the finals at the expense of older singers more ready for prime time. Many of those youngsters — Tristan McIntosh, Gianna Isabella and especially Lee Jean — wilted under the pressure of Idol’s big stage.

3. Develop some sort of plan for promoting the winner after the show. Idol’s last four winners — Trent Harmon, Nick Fradiani, Caleb Johnson and Candice Glover — quickly faded into musical obscurity. And the last winner to enjoy a hit — Phillip Phillips — wound up suing the show. Long gone are the days when naming someone the American Idol means they’re going to remain anyone’s idol once the curtain drops on the show’s season.

If you missed this morning’s GMA lovefest, here are the clips. I wasn’t able to find the one in which Katy calls for a review of America’s gun laws in wake of what happened in Las Vegas.

No word yet on a date for Idol’s premiere on ABC.