Lionel Richie took to Jimmy Kimmel’s couch on Monday night (March 12) to talk about his new job at American Idol, as well as run through his nearly 40-year career as a singer, songwriter and The Commodores frontman.
Just hours after the second episode of the rebooted Idol rolled out on ABC, Richie revealed that his fellow Idol judges Katy Perry and Luke Bryan are “two insane people” who regularly prank the 68-year-old music veteran. Most recently, he’s been a victim of a whoopie cushion on set and a staged fall by Perry.
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Richie also spoke a lot about his famous friends, including country icon Kenny Rogers, who he strongly advises never to go on vacation with. The singer jokingly recalled the one and only time the friends went on vacation together in the Bahamas, a trip that included an incredibly bumpy ride at sea with a seemingly unbothered Rogers. Richie said the one-off trip was after he had finished working on the hit “Endless Love” — meaning he hasn’t gone on vacation with the fellow legendary singer songwriter and lifetime friend since some time around the early 80’s.
He also touched on his relationship with The Commodores, his painful split with the band and the misinterpretations surrounding the situation.
In the last month, Richie has been honored at the Kennedy Center — including a tribute by the one and only Stevie Wonder — and had his Hand and Footprint Ceremony at Hollywood’s TCL Chinese Theatre, hosted by Kimmel. Richie told Kimmel that he and fellow former Motown star Wonder have been talking about writing a song together for nearly three decades, a superstar summit Kimmel offered to broker.
Watch the Kimmel videos below.