Blake Shelton "had a lot of conversations" with Luke Bryan before he joined ‘American Idol’.
The 41-year-old country singer is set to join the judging panel of the ABC revival of the hit Fox talent competition when it returns to screens next year, and his close pal Blake – who judges on rival show ‘The Voice’ – has admitted he offered Luke his advice before he accepted the role, and joked that show bosses would be "p***ed" with the pay cheque he told Luke to ask for.
He said: "I don’t know that he asked for my advice, but we had a lot of conversations about him joining ‘Idol’ and, I guess in a way, I gave him my thoughts on it and about how I felt about it on behalf of him.
"I’m sure the executives at ABC are really p***ed at me right now for what they probably had to pay him to get him on that show. But good for you, Luke! Stick it to ’em!
"I mean, Luke Bryan is not cheap. He looks it, but he’s not."
Luke was reportedly offered $13 million to appear on the show.
Blake, also 41, also joked that viewers will be able to see how "dumb" the ‘Kick the Dust Up’ hitmaker is when he’s put on the spot on live television, but added that the star is also a "great dude".
Speaking to Entertainment Tonight, Blake teased: "I think people are going to realise just how dumb he really is when they see him on national television, in an environment where there’s no script. But you’re also gonna see what a great, great, dude that guy is. I love Luke like a brother, I really do, but he’s just dumb."
Luke will be joining the judging panel alongside ‘Hello’ hitmaker Lionel Richie and pop megastar Katy Perry when the show returns in 2018.
Blake Shelton offered Luke Bryan advice for American Idol
