The twentieth season of the reality show singing competition ''

American Idol ''American Idol'' is an American singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It aired on Fox from June 11, 2002, to Ap ...

'' premiered on February 27, 2022, on the

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

television network. It is the fifth season to air on ABC since the series' revival. Ryan Seacrest returned as host, and Katy Perry, Luke Bryan and Lionel Richie returned as judges. Bobby Bones did not return as in-house mentor. Noah Thompson from

Louisa, Kentucky Louisa is a home rule-class city located at the merger of the Levisa and Tug Forks into the Big Sandy River. It is located in Lawrence County, Kentucky, in the United States, and is the seat of its county. The population was 2,467 at the 2010 ...

, won the season on May 22, 2022, while HunterGirl was the runner-up, and Leah Marlene finished in third place. Thompson was also the second consecutive male country artist to have won following Chayce Beckham the previous season. It was also the first season in the ABC era where the runner-up was a female contestant. This season also featured an all-country Top 2, the first time since season 10.

Auditions

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, the ''Idol Across America'' virtual auditions program returned from last season. The remote auditions took place from August 5 to October 28, 2021, as well as a number of open-call auditions, and from these, the producers selected the contestants who can then audition in front of the judges. ''American Idol'' introduced the "platinum ticket" during the audition round in celebration of the show's twentieth season. A total of three platinum tickets were awarded and gave the recipients the opportunity to advance directly to the second round of Hollywood Week and choose their partners for that week's Duet Challenge before the remaining contestants were paired. The platinum ticket recipients were HunterGirl, Kenedi Anderson, and Jay.

Hollywood Week

Hollywood Week was filmed December 6–9, 2021, at the Orpheum Theatre in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

. The Genre and Duet Challenges from the last two seasons return. In the Genre Challenge, contestants chose groups based on a specific genre and were mentored by a former Idol alum: season 10 runner-up

Lauren Alaina Lauren Alaina Kristine Suddeth (born November 8, 1994) is an American singer and songwriter from Rossville, Georgia. She was the runner-up on the tenth season of ''American Idol.'' Her debut studio album, ''Wildflower,'' was released on October ...

(

Country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while ...

season 2 Season 2 may refer to: * ''Season 2'' (Infinite album) * '' 2econd Season'' See also

* {{disambig ...

winner

Ruben Studdard Ruben Studdard (born September 12, 1978) is an American singer and actor. He rose to fame as winner of the second season of ''American Idol'' and received a Grammy Award nomination in 2003 for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance for his recording of ...

( R&B),

season 9 A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and po ...

winner Lee DeWyze ( Indie folk), season 10 finalist

Haley Reinhart Haley Elizabeth Reinhart (born September 9, 1990) is an American singer, songwriter and actress from Wheeling, Illinois. She first rose to prominence after placing third in the 10th season of ''American Idol''. In July 2011, Reinhart signed a re ...

(

Soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun '' soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest atte ...

season 7 A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and po ...

winner

David Cook David Cook may refer to: Entertainment * David Cook (game designer) (active since 1980s), American game designer for TSR * David Cook (singer) (born 1982), winner of the seventh season of ''American Idol'' * David Cook (writer) (1940–2015), Briti ...

(

Rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

), and

season 6 A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and po ...

winner

Jordin Sparks Jordin Sparks-Thomas (born December 22, 1989) is an American singer and actress. She rose to fame in 2007 after winning the sixth season of ''American Idol'' at age 17, becoming the youngest winner in the series' history. Her self-titled debu ...

( Pop). After all the contestants in their respective groups performed, the judges brought them to the stage and made their decisions. Those who advanced moved onto the Duet Challenge. After the platinum ticket holders chose their duet partners, the judges paired the remaining contestants. The duets were given twelve hours to rehearse, which included a consultation with a vocal coach, a stage rehearsal, and a session for advice from one of the judges. Those who passed the Duet Challenge advanced to the Showstopper Round.

Showstopper Round

The Showstopper Round aired on April 4, featuring the top fifty-nine (thirty-three aired) performing for the judges and a live audience at the Orpheum Theatre. The following day, the judges narrowed the number of contestants down to twenty-four in the Final Judgment. The following is a list of the contestants who performed, the song they performed at the Showstopper, and if they advanced or not. Color key:

Top 24

The Top 24 contestants were split into two groups of twelve and performed at

Aulani Aulani, a Disney Resort & Spa, is a beachside resort hotel at the Ko Olina Resort in Kapolei, Hawaii on the island of Oahu. Affiliated with the Disney Vacation Club, Aulani was the third Disney "stand-alone" hotel that is located in an area wit ...

resort in

Kapolei, Hawaii Kapolei () is a planned community in Honolulu County, Hawaiʻi, United States, on the island of Oʻahu. It is colloquially known as the "second city" of Oʻahu, in relation to Honolulu. For statistical purposes, the United States Census Bureau ...

. Pre-recorded performances of the first group aired on April 10 and the second group on April 11.

Jimmie Allen James Edward Allen (born June 18, 1985) is an American country music singer and songwriter. He is signed to Broken Bow Records imprint Stoney Creek, for which he has released the two singles " Best Shot" and "Make Me Want To" and the 2018 album ...

served as a guest mentor for the first group and

Bebe Rexha Bleta Rexha (; born August 30, 1989), known professionally as Bebe Rexha ( ), is an American pop singer and songwriter. After signing with Warner Records in 2013, Rexha received songwriting credits on Eminem's single " The Monster" (which lat ...

for the second group. Color key:

Top 20 (April 17 and 18)

The Top 20 performances were taped on April 12, 2022, and aired on Sunday, April 17, followed by the live results on Monday, April 18. Color key:

Live shows

Color key:

Week 1: Top 14 – Breakout Hits / Top 11 – Judge's Song Contest (April 24 and 25)

The Top 14 performed breakout hits on Sunday, April 24, 2022.

Gabby Barrett Gabby Barrett Foehner (born March 5, 2000) is an American country music singer. She finished third on the 16th season of ''American Idol''. Her debut single " I Hope" was the first top 10 Hot Country Songs debut by an unaccompanied woman sinc ...

served as a guest mentor. The judges picked songs for each of the Top 11 to perform, without knowing who chose it until after performing. Katy and Luke tied with the most songs selected and saved one contestant from elimination.

Week 2: Top 10 – Disney Night (May 1)

The Top 10 performed

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

songs.

Derek Hough Derek Bruce Hough (; born May 17, 1985) is an American professional Latin and ballroom dancer, choreographer, actor and singer. From 2007 to 2016, Hough was a professional dancer on the ABC dance competition series ''Dancing with the Stars'', w ...

served as a guest mentor.

Week 3: Top 7 – TikTok/Mother's Day Dedication (May 8)

The Top 7 performed songs that either they've posted or went viral on

TikTok TikTok, known in China as Douyin (), is a short-form video hosting service owned by the Chinese company ByteDance. It hosts user-submitted videos, which can range in duration from 15 seconds to 10 minutes. TikTok is an international version o ...

and songs dedicated to their mothers or grandmothers.

will.i.am William James Adams Jr. (born March 15, 1975), known professionally as will.i.am (pronounced "Will-I-am"), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter and record producer. He is the founding and lead member of the musical group Black Eyed Peas. ...

served as a guest mentor.

Week 4: Top 5 – Carrie Underwood/Contestant's Choice (May 15)

The Top 5 performed Carrie Underwood songs and a song of their choice. Underwood served as a guest mentor.

Week 5: Finale – Bruce Springsteen/Artist Singles/Reprise Songs (May 22)

The Top 3 performed songs by Bruce Springsteen, their winner's singles and a reprise of their favorite performance of the season. Color key:

Elimination Chart

Color key

Ratings

Notes

References

External links

* {{American Idol 2022 American television seasons American Idol seasons Television series impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic