American Idol has historically had many big names perform throughout its seasons and on its season finales. Being the massive star that she is, was Rihanna ever on American Idol?
Rihanna was on American Idol when she appeared on the show’s season eleven finale. She performed her song Where Have You Been for fans in the reality TV show’s audience. When the reality show was rebooted in 2018, Katy Perry said she would love it if Rihanna joined her on the judges panel, but Rihanna never took her up on the offer.
You can read more below about Rihanna’s appearance on American Idol, what other reality shows she has been on, and if she would ever be a judge on the show.
Rihanna’s Guest Appearance on Idol
In 2012, Rihanna was the big finale performance for season eleven of the show. She performed her song Where Have You Been while fashioning some killer dreadlocks and dancing up a storm. This wasn’t her first appearance on American Idol though. She was actually a guest performer on the show in 2010 and 2011.
You can watch Rihanna’s performance on American Idol’s season eleven finale by following the below YouTube link.
Other Reality Shows She Has Been On
In 2012, Rihanna produced a British reality TV show called Styled to Rock. It was a competition for aspiring fashion designers to design and create outfits for a different A-list celebrity each week. The show was hosted by ex-supermodel, Heidi Klum. Some of the stars to appear on the show were Kanye West, Cheryl, Little Mix, and Katy Perry. The season finale and grand prize for the competition was designing an outfit for Rihanna to wear at her Wireless Festival Performance.
An American version of Styled to Rock aired in 2013. Contestants designed outfits for celebrities like Kylie Minogue, Khloe Kardashian, and Carly Rae Jepson. In this version of the show, the contestants designed for Rihanna on the series premiere and then the finale. The grand prize was $100,000 cash, a feature in Glamour Magazine, and an offer to join Rihanna’s design team.
In 2015, Rihanna was on The Voice USA’s ninth season. She took on the role of an advisor for three episodes of the show. Riri has also appeared on The X Factor: Celebrity six times as a special guest performer. In her 2010 appearance on season seven, she sang a duet with contestant Matt Cardle. The two performed her song Unfaithful. Radio Times dubbed the performance number four on their list of top ten duets of The X Factor.
Would Rihanna Ever Judge for American Idol?
American Idol has had a string of famous judges throughout its time on air. Starting with Simon Cowell, famous music producer Randy Jackson, and pop diva Paula Abdul, the judges panel has only grown with names from there.
The latin popstar Kara DioGuardi judged for two seasons. Ellen DeGeneres was a judge for one season, as well as Nicki Minaj and Mariah Carey. Keith Urban, Jennifer Lopez, and Harry Conick Jr. all judged for multiple seasons until the show was dropped by Fox in 2016.
When the show was rebooted by ABC in 2018, Katy Perry signed on to be a judge. She told Extra TV’s Mario Lopez that “My dream people would be Rihanna and Tim McGraw.” Not long after Perry’s wishes were revealed did reporters catch up with Riri to see if she would be interested.
Rihanna’s response pretty much summed up her disinterest in being a judge on the popular reality TV show. In true Rihanna fashion, she said “Uhm, I don’t know. Depends on how bored I am.” With those words, she pretty much killed Katy Perry’s dream. With the fashion empire Rihanna is building, it seems unlikely she is going to be bored any time soon.