‘American Idol’ judge Luke Bryan jokes that Katy Perry ‘bullied’ him during ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live’ audition

Luke Bryan joked that Katy Perry bullied him when a disagreement arose during the audition. The two joined judge Lionel Richie on “Jimmy Kimmel Live” on Thursday night.

“I go, Luke, stand your ground,” said Richie.

“Have you ever seen Katy flutter her eyelashes?” Bryan replied.

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However, the country singer admits that sometimes contestants get nervous and start their auditions horribly before they “come back with a bang”.

“If one of us sees something in them [that’s] in particular, we started to gather [for] that person. It’s really a fun motivator,” he said.

SEE MORE: Platinum tickets and other new information for season 20 of ‘American Idol’

“American Idol” begins its 20th season overall and fifth on ABC this Sunday.

Each season, contestants from across the United States compete for the title of musical superstar.

This time, the show introduced a new element: top talent from the three audition cities – Austin, Nashville and Los Angeles – were awarded a total of nine “platinum tickets”. That gives them the “passing right” to sit out one of the first innings.

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Former winnersuch as Kelly Clarkson, Fantasia Barrino and Carrie Underwood, have won Grammy Awards and built major careers.

“It’s season 20 and usually means platinum in a marriage, so it’s definitely platinum talent,” Perry told “Good Morning America.” “We’ve been judges together for five seasons now and I think our bar is getting higher and higher.

Watch the season premiere of American Idol starting Sunday, February 27 at 8 p.m. ET/PT | 7pm CT on your local ABC station and the next day on Hulu.