The twenty-second season of American Idol premiered on February 18, 2024, on the ABC television network.[1][2]Ryan Seacrest returned as host; Luke Bryan, Katy Perry, and Lionel Richie returned as judges.[3] This season was Perry's final one on the show; she announced her departure on February 13, 2024, five days before the premiere.[4]
Abi Carter won the season on May 19, 2024, while Will Moseley was the runner-up, and Jack Blocker finished in third place.
Auditions
The Idol Across America virtual auditions program returned. Remote auditions took place from August 2 to September 8, 2023, as well as a number of open-call auditions, and from these, the producers selected the contestants who were then invited to audition in front of the judges.[5] Three locations were new, and selected due to them being hometowns of the judges: Leesburg (Bryan), Tuskegee (Richie), and Santa Barbara (Perry).[6]
The "platinum ticket" also returned from the previous two seasons. During the audition round, a total of three platinum tickets were awarded. The platinum ticket recipients were Odell Bunton Jr., Abi Carter, and Julia Gagnon.[7][8][9] Carter ended up becoming the first "platinum ticket" recipient to win the series.
Hollywood week was filmed on December 10, 2023, at the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica. Dubbed the "Idol Arena", each contestant was chosen at random to perform a solo, and fifty-six of them advanced to the next round.[10][11] The platinum ticket recipients (Abi Carter, Julia Gagnon, and Odell Bunton Jr.) sang "California Dreamin'" by The Mamas & the Papas as a trio.[12] Their advantage was the ability to skip this round, but were asked to do a bonus performance.[10][11] This season did not feature a duet round. The "Showstoppers" round would determine the Top 24 semifinalists.[10]
Showstopper round
The Showstopper round featured the top 56 contestants performing for the judges and a live audience at the Barker Hangar. This round was filmed on December 11, 2023, and aired on April 1, 2024. The judges then narrowed the number of contestants down to 24. The following is a list of the contestants who reached the top 24 and the song they performed. Contestants are listed in the order they performed.
The top 24 contestants were split into two groups of twelve and performed one solo each at the Aulani resort in Kapolei, Hawaii. The first group taped on February 7 and aired on April 7, while the second group taped on February 8 and aired on April 8. Tori Kelly served as a guest mentor and judge for the first group, and Jelly Roll for the second group. Two contestants from each group will be eliminated based on the public vote, and the rest will advance to the top 20. Contestants are listed in the order they performed.
Gene Simmons served as a guest mentor this week. Each contestant performed one song from inductees of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Contestants are listed in the order they performed.
Shania Twain served as a guest mentor this week. Each contestant performed a song from the year of their birth. Contestants are listed in the order they performed.
The judges chose songs for each of the contestants to perform. Katy Perry had the most song choices selected by the contestants, and was able to save one contestant from elimination. Contestants are listed in the order they performed.
Ciara served as a guest mentor this week. Each contestant performed two songs: one dance song, and one song from the Adele discography. Contestants are listed in the order they performed.
Kane Brown served as a guest mentor this week. Each contestant performed two songs from Disney films. Contestants are listed in the order they performed.
Jon Bon Jovi served as a guest mentor this week. Each contestant performed two songs – one from the Jon Bon Jovi discography and one dedicated to their hometowns – before the contestant who had the fewest votes up to that point was eliminated, thereby finishing in third place.
After Jack Blocker was eliminated, the Top 2 were Abi Carter and Will Moseley. Near the end of the show after the guest performances, Moseley and Carter sang their potential coronation singles. After the voting lines were closed, Carter was declared the winner while Moseley was runner-up.
^DeHollogne, Lauren (April 8, 2024). "There's a Lot That's Different About American Idol 2024". Collider. Retrieved April 19, 2024. …Santa Barbara, Tuskegee, and Leesburg. Notice something odd about the last three cities? They are not known to be the typical cities Idol holds their auditions, but they are rather the judges' hometowns.
^"Auditions, Part 1". American Idol. Season 22. Episode 1. February 18, 2024. ABC.
^"Auditions, Part 2". American Idol. Season 22. Episode 2. February 25, 2024. ABC.
^"Auditions, Part 5". American Idol. Season 22. Episode 5. March 24, 2024. ABC.
