Getty Bobby Bones at the 2019 iHeartRadio Awards
Radio DJ Bobby Bones is expanding his role on American Idol. Last season, Bones joined 24 Idol hopefuls as they prepared to take the stage, but now, he’s been promoted to guest mentor. According to ABC, this means Bones will be “offering his industry expertise” throughout the competition. Learn more about his mentor role below.
In an interview with D23, Bones, spoke about the challenge of being a good mentor and how he relates to the nervousness that Idol contestants face. “I see myself in them. They come in very wide-eyed. I’d never been to Los Angeles until it was for work,” he said. “I was like, ‘Holy crap! This place is huge!’ Some of them have never flown on an airplane; I didn’t fly on an airplane until I was older. It’s like, ‘Wow, in some ways I’m mentoring a younger version of myself.’”
Bobby Bones Will Serve as a Guest Mentor Throughout the Season
This is not the only time that Bones has served as a guest mentor on Idol. He held the position twice during the show’s first season. “I thought, ‘I’ll come in and do as much as I can to help them get through their one round,’” he said. “When they asked me to come back this year and do the entire season, I found that to be really exciting, because I don’t have to wait and see how everybody’s doing and wonder if I’m ever going to see them again. Now I’m with them week-to-week, so I can help them improve incrementally.”
The radio DJ and personality also said that his experience winning season 27 of Dancing With the Stars has helped him grow as a mentor. “I’d done music at a pretty high level, and I’d done radio and TV at a pretty high level, but I’d never done a reality show,” he revealed. “That was eye-opening, because it is a grind. You’re learning as you go each week. There is a lot I could teach the contestants from that experience!”
Bones Previously Served as a Guest Mentor on ‘American Idol’ Season 1
Bones is a highly decorated entertainer. He is the youngest ever inductee into the National Radio Hall of Fame, and his radio series The Bobby Bones Show is syndicated on over 140 stations. With an estimated 3 million listeners, The Bobby Bones Show is the biggest country music morning show in the country. In 2017, he won a Country Music Association Award as the National Broadcast Personality of the Year.
Beyond his country music ties, Bones has also been a familiar voice for general audiences. He’s been a guest host on Live! with Regis & Kelly, and since 2012, he has been a part of the Fox Sports Radio lineup. He currently hosts the sports talk show Roddick and Bones with tennis player Andy Roddick. Bones also hosts a podcast known as “The Bobbycast”, where he interviews singers/songwriters of different genres.