Ryan Seacrest and Luke Bryan have grown close during the last seven seasons of American Idol. When Emmy Russell’s season 22 performance left the Idol host in tears, Bryan was there to comfort him. The “Love You, Miss You, Mean It” singer turned 48 Wednesday (July 17.) And Seacrest paid tribute to his friend with a sweet social media post.
“Thanks For Loving Me Like I Love You”
Back in April, Emmy Russell performed an original track called “Want You” on the American Idol stage. The granddaughter of the late, great Loretta Lynn explained that she had written the song about unrequited love. “It’s just about me wanting someone that didn’t want me back,” Russell said. “I really wished this person loved me like I loved them.”
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The performance emotionally wrecked Ryan Seacrest, who ran onto the stage in tears. “Ryan do you want somebody to want you like that too?” judge Katy Perry asked.
“Love me,” Seacrest exclaimed. “Love me like I love you.”
That’s when Bryan rose to his feet. “I’ll give you a hug, Ryan,” the country star said. The host accepted that as an invitation to jump straight into Bryan’s arms. “That was a moment,” judge Lionel Richie said.
Seacrest harkened back to the comically wholesome moment in an Instagram post Wednesday (July 17.) “Happy birthday, LB!” wrote the longtime TV host. “Thanks for loving me like I love you.’
The official Idol Instagram chimed in below in the post’s comments section. “Love this love,” it wrote.
Will Luke Bryan Return to ‘American Idol?’
For many viewers, the bond between judges Luke Bryan, Katy Perry and Lionel Richie is what makes American Idol worth watching. The judging trio has remained intact since ABC rebooted the show in 2018. Next year, however, things will look a little different. Katy Perry departed the show in May to promote her musical comeback.
Two months later, executives remain mum on Perry’s replacement. In fact, Luke Bryan recently revealed that his own future is also uncertain—along with Richie’s.
“It’s been something Disney (has) been really tight-lipped about with me and Lionel and Ryan,” the country singer told Billboard. “We currently haven’t heard what the story is on who’s coming back, and if Lionel and I are coming back.”
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