Luke Bryan Praises Bobby Bones for His Role on 'American Idol'

The third season of American Idol on ABC kicked off on Sunday, with judges Luke Bryan, Katy Perry and Lionel Richie all returning, as did Bobby Bones, who will appear during the entire season of American Idol this year. Bryan is praising Bones for his role on the reality TV talent show, applauding the Dancing With the Stars champion for the time he invests in the aspiring singers.

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"I love having [Bobby Bones] out on the road with us for [American Idol]!" Bryan posted on Instagram. "Love the time and energy he puts in behind the scenes."

The admiration between the two men clearly goes both ways, since Bones previously spoke out about his feelings for Bryan.

"I love the people there," Bones told PopCulture.com, speaking of his time on Idol. "I just wish people could see how nice of a dude superstar Luke Bryan is. 'Cause he's a superstar, but, I get to spend time with him as friends now, and a lot of time he's just the greatest dude. And the more I hang out with him, the more I'm like, 'Man I wish people [knew him].'

'Cause people love Luke anyway, but you always wonder who's really behind the famous guy," he continued. "Not an act, great dude. And Lionel Richie and I have become boys, too. It's been a fantastic run for me over at Idol."

Bryan is grateful for his time on American Idol, even if it does make his schedule a lot more chaotic.

"I love it. I'm settled in," Bryan shared with PopCulture.com and other media. "Me and Lionel and Katy and Bobby and Ryan, we're in our stride. What I love about American Idol is me and Lionel and Katy, we could tell jokes all day long and have antics and be goofy and all that, but when a great, when an amazingly talented kid walks in that room, that's when the show starts happening.

"We're in the audition process, and the talent keeps rolling through the door," he continued. "I think me and Lionel and Katy were a little more picky. We know what's going to survive the later rounds. Sometimes we'd send a kid to Hollywood just as an experiment, and those experiments really don't really work. So we've learned not to waste some of these kids' time."

Photo Credit: Getty / David Livingston