‘American Idol’: Luke Bryan Reveals ‘Hardest Part’ of Filming During a Pandemic

The latest season of American Idol arrived on ABC on Sunday night, with judges Luke Bryan, Katy Perry and Lionel Richie beginning their search for the show’s latest winner. Due to the pandemic, this season’s auditions looked slightly different than normal, with the three judges seated at their own tables instead of directly next to each other. They also were unable to hug the contestants, which Bryan named as the most difficult part of the process for him.

“The interesting thing is just trying to navigate all of the new rules of COVID-19,” he told PEOPLE. “One tricky thing is a lot of times during the audition process, contestants will get very, very emotional and it will be an emotional situation for them. The fact that me and Lionel and Katy can’t walk out there and do the human element — hug and show support and love, is very, very tough.”

“I think that’s one thing you’ll see as a viewer of me and Lionel and Katy,” Bryan continued. “When someone is hurting and they’re emotional, you want to console them and hug them and love on them to help them through. The fact that sometimes we can’t go put our arms around them is pretty heartbreaking.” Despite that restriction, the country singer noted that the rest of the show will still “look and feel the same.”

“At the core of it, it’s all about those wonderful singers and talented singers walking in the door and really blowing our minds as judges,” he said. “I think through all of the COVID restrictions and rules, we’ve been able to really, really put an amazing show together, and very excited to see some of the talent that we’ve been able to find.”

While the judges may not be able to hug the contestants, they are able to sing with them, as evidenced by Bryan’s impromptu duet with contestant Alex Miller, which Bryan shared on Instagram ahead of the season premiere. In the audition room, the 17-year-old performed an original song he wrote for an ex-girlfriend, which garnered praise from the judges. The teen earned a golden ticket to Hollywood, and after some convincing from Perry, Bryan got up and grabbed a guitar to perform Merle Haggard’s “Big City” with miller. “I just couldn’t help myself but sing with @alex_miller_music…,” Bryan captioned the clip.