'American Idol': Luke Bryan Shows off Behind-the-Scenes of Set Amid Quarantine Episodes
Country megastar and American Idol judge Luke Bryan is doing pretty good for himself amid [...]
Country megastar and American Idol judge Luke Bryan is doing pretty good for himself amid quarantine while his ABC reality series adapts to social distancing guidelines to flatten the curve of a global pandemic. On Sunday, ahead of Idol, the 43-year-old took to Instagram to share an exclusive behind-the-scenes sneak peek of his new set at home thanks in part to the network and Idol sending over equipment for the broadcast.
"Hi guys, it's Luke here coming at you from my barn via the new set of American Idol," he said in the video. "Idol sent me all this gear — we got like iPhones, got wires ran everywhere, here's my chair I'm sitting in; here's my wardrobe spot where my stylist sent me some clothes and... trying to do my own hair, the best I can. Anyway hope you guys are enjoying Idol, and make sure you tune in!"
View this post on InstagramCheck out my #IdolAtHome set! Tune in TONIGHT for a brand new episode of #AmericanIdol
Fans took to the comments section to chime in on the fun behind-the-scenes footage, with many excited about the new episode tonight, which will see 10 contestants eliminated after the Top 20 performed last week. "God bless you and your family, they are the pillars behind your success," wrote one fan about Bryan's family as he quarantines with them in Nashville. Another chimed in, "Uhhh, nice barn!" as another fan echoed the sentiment, "Loving the format! Best group ever."
It was unveiled on April 19 that the network would create an unprecedented plan involving the entire show with its judges, host and mentor broadcast from home amid a global pandemic that has seen more than 3.5 million total confirmed cases of COVID-19, the disease brought on by the novel coronavirus outbreak around the globe, with 1.1 million confirmed in the U.S. per the Johns Hopkins University map. Of the nationally confirmed cases, 67,674 have died.
During the run of last week's episode filmed with 20 contestants, Idol showrunner and president of the Idol production company, Trish Kinane mentioned to Variety that the show was shot in "45 different locations" so it's quite the operation. The outlet further reported the new episodes will be "live to tape," so producers have a few moments to edit the show into something ABC can air, and to also help the contestants if any of their cameras fail. After this week's episode, there will only be two more shows.
"Four weeks is the right amount of time for these people to perform," ABC alternative series senior VP Rob Mills told Variety. "It's going to be more cutthroat because you're going to see more people eliminated each week than normal. So there is going to be less room for error. And I think that will make it more exciting."
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