Luke Bryan Says Watching Katy Perry as a Mom Is a ‘Very Beautiful Thing’

The latest season of American Idol premiered on ABC this week, which means judges Luke Bryan, Katy Perry and Lionel Richie are back on their search for a new star. The new season began filming in late 2020, after Perry welcomed her daughter Daisy Dove with fiancé Orlando Bloom in August, and Bryan told PEOPLE that watching his fellow judge as a mom has been a “very beautiful thing.”

“It’s just really amazing being there with Katy and watching her [be a mom],” he said. “Sometimes in the breaks, she’ll FaceTime Orlando and little Daisy Dove. And so, I’ll get to say, ‘Hey.’ But just watching Katy embrace being a mother is a very beautiful thing to watch. I never had a doubt she would be a tremendous mother.”

“She’d come on set; she would’ve been up nursing all night,” Bryan continued. “Katy’s in the full swing of things with nursing, so we’ve had to work around her schedule. But she’s been a trooper and showing up and working like she always does. I know she’s doing it on minimal sleep, so she’s a rockstar.”

During a recent interview on Live with Kelly and Ryan, Perry discussed her life as a working mom, sharing that returning to Idol so soon after giving birth was “intense.” “Of course there’s a routine. My daughter is a Virgo and she thrives in routine,” Perry joked. “But I did start filming American Idol Season 4 after I’d given birth, five weeks later. And I didn’t plan that. But it was like, ‘Oh, my God!’ It was so intense, you know?”

“Giving birth, then going back to work and breastfeeding, like — holy crap! ‘This is what women do? Oh my God!’” she added. The “Smile” singer also opened up about heading back to work in a series of tweets in September, beginning her message with, “Popular misconception: being a mom isn’t a full-time job.”

“Part 2: when a mom finally goes back to work (whatever profession they do) it’s not like they been coming from months of ‘time off …’ she’s coming from a full time job … of being a mom, lol,” she continued. “Part 3: call your mom and tell her you love and appreciate her and advocate for paid family leave!” Perry concluded, “Part 4. I love my job.”