The eighteenth season of ''

American Idol ''American Idol'' is an American Music competition, singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle (company), Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It a ...

'' premiered on February 16, 2020, on the ABC television network.

Luke Bryan Thomas Luther "Luke" Bryan (born July 17, 1976) is an American country music singer, songwriter, and television personality. Bryan is a five-time "Entertainer of the Year", being awarded by both the Academy of Country Music Awards and the Count ...

Katy Perry Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson (born October 25, 1984), known professionally as Katy Perry, is an American singer, songwriter, and television personality. She is one of the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling music artists in hist ...

, and

Lionel Richie Lionel Brockman Richie Jr. (born June 20, 1949) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and television personality. He rose to fame in the 1970s as a songwriter and the co-lead singer of the Motown group Commodores; writing and recor ...

returned as judges, while

Ryan Seacrest Ryan John Seacrest (born December 24, 1974) is an American television presenter and producer. Seacrest is the host of '' Wheel of Fortune'', having hosted since replacing long-time host Pat Sajak in September 2024. Seacrest co-hosted and ser ...

continued as host.

Bobby Bones Bobby Estell, (born April 2, 1980) known professionally as Bobby Bones, is an American radio and television personality, best known for hosting the nationally syndicated '' The Bobby Bones Show'', originating from the iHeart Studios in Nashvill ...

returned as the in-house mentor. Taping was suspended after the top 19 were revealed and the contestants were sent home due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. The show resumed production in late April, with the on-air talent and contestants filming from their homes. The stay-at-home and social-distancing mandates, according to ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'', compelled producers "to get very, very creative this time around to keep season 18 afloat amid the most challenging conditions in show history." Up to forty-five remote sites were used and each contestant was treated equally, with access to similar equipment and resources. Segments were usually taped a day in advance, except for the judges' critiques and voting results, which aired live. On May 17, 2020, Just Sam was crowned as the winner, with

Arthur Gunn Dibesh Pokharel (born October 24, 1997), known by his stage name Arthur Gunn, is a Nepalese-born American singer-songwriter from Wichita, Kansas, who came to national attention in 2020 as the runner-up finalist on the eighteenth season of the si ...

finishing as the runner-up. Due to this season's contestants never having an opportunity to perform on the live stage because of COVID-19 safety restrictions, ''American Idol'' invited ten contestants back onto the following season to compete for a re-entry spot—as voted upon by the public—as part of the top ten, after which they would still be eligible for votes or elimination as usual. This group included three finalists (runner-up Gunn; Louis Knight; and Makayla Phillips) and seven semifinalists (Aliana Jester, Cyniah Elise, DeWayne Crocker Jr., Faith Becnel, Franklin Boone, Nick Merico, and Olivia Ximines), with Gunn ultimately being selected by the public's votes to join Season 19. He tied with Hunter Metts for sixth place.

Regional auditions

Hollywood week

Hollywood week was filmed December 2–5, 2019, at the Orpheum Theatre in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. There were several changes in format this season. In the first round, each contestant chose and performed a song from a selection of musical genres (

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...

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 Wale ...

, R&B,

soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...

, or

singer-songwriter A singer-songwriter is a musician who writes, composes, and performs their own musical material, including lyrics and melodies. In the United States, the category is built on the folk- acoustic tradition with a guitar, although this role has ...

). Those who impressed the judges and the producers were advanced to the next round. Instead of group performances as had been done in previous seasons, contestants paired up and performed duets. They were given twelve hours to rehearse, which included a session with a vocal coach and a stage rehearsal. Judges could advance either, neither, or both of the contestants to the next round, where they performed their final solos before advancing to the Showcase round.

Showcase round

The Showcase round aired on March 29 and April 5, and featured the top 40 performing for the judges and a live audience at Disney's

Aulani Aulani, a Disney Resort & Spa, is a beachside resort hotel at the Ko Olina Resort in Kapolei, Hawaii, on the island of Oahu. It is one of Disney's "stand-alone" hotels, situated in a location without any adjacent theme parks, alongside Disney ...

resort in

Kapolei, Hawaii Kapolei () is a New town, planned community in the Honolulu County, Hawaii, City and County of Honolulu, Hawaiʻi, United States, on the island of Oahu, Oʻahu. In 1977, the government designated it as the "second city" of Oʻahu, in relation ...

. The following day, the judges narrowed the number of contestants down from 40 to 20. The following is a list of the first nineteen contestants who reached the top 20 and the song they performed at the Showcase. For the twentieth and final spot, Grace Leer and Lauren Mascetti's result was determined by a vote from the public, which was revealed on April 19. Contestants are listed in the order they performed.

Finals

After a short hiatus, production resumed and all contestants performed remotely due to safety measures in place during the

. Additionally,

and the judges were also broadcast from their homes. Color key:

Top 20 (April 26)

The ten contestants who received the most votes continued on, while the judges were granted a one-time judges' save, which they used to save Makayla Phillips from elimination. Contestants are listed in the order they performed.

Top 11 (May 3)

Contestants are listed in the order they performed.

Top 7 – Disney & Mother's Day (May 10)

Each contestant performed two songs: one song from a

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

movie, and one song in honor of

Mother's Day Mother's Day is a celebration honoring the mother of the family or individual, as well as motherhood, maternal bonds, and the influence of mothers in society. It is celebrated on different days in many parts of the world, most commonly in Mar ...

. Contestants are listed in the order they performed.

Top 5 – Finale (May 17)

Each contestant performed two songs, and are listed in the order they performed.

Elimination chart

Color key:

Ratings

References

External links

* {{American Idol American Idol seasons 2020 American television seasons Television series impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic