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Ryan Seacrest discussed the notion of legacy with PEOPLE at the Nashville American Idol Season 9 press line
"In terms of what I hope people expect from me, or get when I'm on any show, is that they feel comfortable watching it. They enjoy it. It doesn't seem like it's too difficult. They can have anybody of any age watch the show," Seacrest shared, in part
Seacrest added that his "energy" to remain the show's host comes from "seeing new people every year from all over the country, many of them, now, have grown up watching the show and waited all their lives for this moment to audition."
After almost a quarter-century at the helm ofAmerican Idol,Ryan Seacrestis looking back on his time on the world's most famous singing competition, but he's not too concerned with the notion of legacy just yet.
"That's a big question. I haven't thought about legacy yet," Seacrest told PEOPLE at the NashvilleAmerican IdolSeason 9 press line, which took place in November 2025.
The star continued, "In terms of what I hope people expect from me, or get when I'm on any show, is that they feel comfortable watching it. They enjoy it. It doesn't seem like it's too difficult. They can have anybody of any age watch the show. People can get together as a family watch the show. And for me to make them feel comfortable, and as if we've known each other for a long time, even if we've never met. And if you were a host, that's the idea."
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Though Seacrest has been withAmerican Idolfor virtually the entirety of its existence, he noted that a few things have remained the same about his perspective towards the competition, no matter what set of judges and participants come and go.
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"You just listen to the room, and go with the flow of what the show is — you can't plan out too much of it. And I think that's the beauty of it. When we get into our live shows, we have an idea of how it's going to go, but it never really goes that way. And you follow the ball, and make people feel as comfortable as they can on the stage, and have fun with the judges and that's the equation," he revealed.
Seacrest added that his "energy" comes from "seeing new people every year from all over the country, many of them, now, have grown up watching the show and waited all their lives for this moment to audition."
On top of that, the host has "recently" recognized that many contestants "say, 'I never thought I would be the person that would try out for this show, but I saw an artist, or a contestant like me that was not in this quintessential cookie-cutter kind of way. And I thought, wow, it could be me' and they do it. So I think that's the evolution of this."
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American Idolpremieres Monday, Jan. 26, at 8 p.m. ET.
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