Luke Bryan to miss first ‘American Idol’ live show after positive COVID-19 test

Luke Bryan says he’ll be missing from Monday’s live episode of “American Idol” after testing positive for COVID-19.

The “One Margarita” country singer, a judge on the reality TV music competition, shared his diagnosis with his more than 9 million Twitter followers on Monday, writing:

I’m sad to say I won’t be a part of tonight’s first live @AmericanIdol show. I tested positive for COVID but I’m doing well and look forward to being back at it soon.

— Luke Bryan (@LukeBryanOnline) April 12, 2021

The ABC show said in a statement that singer Paula Abdul, one of the series’s original judges, would serve as a guest judge in Bryan’s place, alongside judges Katy Perry and Lionel Richie.

Bryan would be missed, a tweet from “American Idol” said, but the 44-year-old performer “is resting in quarantine at home & we wish him a speedy recovery.”

Luke will be missed at our 1st #AmericanIdol LIVE show tonight, but is resting in quarantine at home & we wish him a speedy recovery. We’re so excited to announce @PaulaAbdul will be stepping in as a guest judge with Lionel Richie & Katy Perry as we get closer to a new winner! https://t.co/HNUQ92Nf6l

— American Idol (@AmericanIdol) April 12, 2021

The team behind the long-running series talked about the challenges of filming during the coronavirus pandemic and the safety measures that were taken, telling Billboard in February, “Our aim was to make this season of Idol as normal as possible.”