Luke Bryan inked his lucrative deal with American Idol thanks to a little help from his good friend Blake Shelton. Blake used his years of experience as a mentor on NBC's The Voice to help Luke navigate negotiations with ABC before signing on to be one of the three judges on the network's reboot of American Idol.
American Idol returns to ABC in March with Luke, Lionel Richie and Katy Perry sitting at the judge's table. Ryan Seacrest returns to host the show.