| American Idol | |
|---|---|
| Season 22 | |
 Promotional poster, which pays tribute to the filmThe Wizard of Oz (1939) | |
| Hosted by | Ryan Seacrest |
| Judges | |
| Winner | Abi Carter |
| Runner-up | Will Moseley |
| No. of episodes | 18 |
| Release | |
| Original network | ABC |
| Original release | February 18 (2024-02-18) – May 19, 2024 (2024-05-19) |
| Season chronology | |
← Previous Season 21 Next → Season 23 | |
| List of episodes | |
The twenty-second season ofAmerican Idol premiered on February 18, 2024, on theABC television network.[1][2]Ryan Seacrest returned as host;Luke Bryan,Katy Perry, andLionel 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, andJack Blocker finished in third place.
TheIdol 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] There were three new locations, the 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., Carter, and Julia Gagnon.[7][8][9] Carter was the first "platinum ticket" recipient to win the series.
| City | Filming date(s) | Filming venue |
|---|---|---|
| Leesburg, Georgia | September 19–20, 2023 | Lee County High School |
| Tuskegee, Alabama | October 2–3, 2023 | Tuskegee University |
| Santa Barbara, California | October 17–18, 2023 | Music Academy of the West |
| Los Angeles | October 24–25, 2023 | Calamigos Ranch |
| Nashville | November 11–12, 2023 | Graduate Nashville |
Hollywood week was filmed on December 10, 2023, at theBarker Hangar inSanta 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'" byThe Mamas & the Papas as a trio.[12] The advantage they received was the ability to skip this round, they were asked to do a bonus performance.[10][11] The season did not feature a duet round. The "Showstoppers" round determined the Top 24 semifinalists.[10]
The Showstopper round featured the top 56 contestants performing for the judges and a live audience at the Barker Hangar. The round was filmed on December 11, 2023, and aired on April 1, 2024. The judges narrowed the number of contestants to 24. Here is a list of the contestants who reached the top 24 and the song they performed. Contestants are listed in the order they performed.
| Contestant | Song |
|---|---|
| Jordan Anthony | "Love in the Dark" |
| Odell Bunton Jr. | "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" |
| Nya | "Get Ready" |
| Blake Proehl | "In My Blood" |
| Triston Harper | "By Your Grace" |
| Roman Collins | "Come Together" |
| Kaibrienne | "Simple Man" |
| Jack Blocker | "You Should've Seen the Other Guy" |
| McKenna Faith Breinholt | "Anyone" |
| Mia Matthews | "You Ain't Woman Enough (To Take My Man)" |
| Emmy Russell | "More Hearts Than Mine" |
| Will Moseley | "Ain't No Sunshine" |
| Ajii | "Too Close" |
| Kayko | "Gives You Hell" |
| Elleigh Marie | "Golden Slumbers" |
| Kennedy Reid | "Total Eclipse of the Heart" |
| KBlocks | "River" |
| Abi Carter | "If I Could Turn Back Time" |
| Jayna Elise | "It's All Coming Back to Me Now" |
| Quintavious | "You Say" |
| Hailey Mia | "Alive" |
| Jennifer Jeffries | "Northern Attitude" |
| Julia Gagnon | "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" |
| Mackenzie Sol | "With a Little Help from My Friends" |
The top 24 contestants were split into two groups of twelve and performed one solo each at theAulani resort inKapolei, 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, andJelly 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.
Color key:
This contestant was saved by America's vote. |
This contestant was eliminated. |
|
|
| Performer | Song |
|---|---|
| Tori Kelly | "High Water" |
| Iam Tongi | "Why Kiki?" |
| Performer | Song |
|---|---|
| Jelly Roll | "Halfway to Hell" |
The top 20 performances were taped on Wednesday, April 10 and aired on Sunday, April 14, followed by the live results show on Monday, April 15.
Color key:
This contestant was chosen by the public to advance. |
This contestant was not chosen by the public, and had to perform again for the judges. |
This contestant was not chosen by the public, but was chosen by the judges as a Wild Card pick. |
This contestant was eliminated. |
Contestants are listed in the order they performed.
| Contestant | Song | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Jack Blocker | "You Don't Mess Around with Jim" | Safe |
| Mia Matthews | "Wildflowers and Wild Horses" | Safe |
| Mackenzie Sol | "I'll Never Love Again" | Wild Card |
| Roman Collins | "Never Would Have Made It" | Wild Card |
| Kennedy Reid | "Love Can Build a Bridge" | Wild Card |
| Ajii | "Like a Stone" | Wild Card |
| Jennifer Jeffries | "Grave Digger" | Wild Card |
| Emmy Russell | "Want You" | Safe |
| Triston Harper | "H-O-P-E" | Safe |
| Odell Bunton Jr. | "The Door" | Wild Card |
| Kayko | "Over You" | Safe |
| Jordan Anthony | "When the Party's Over" | Wild Card |
| Quintavious | "Hollow" | Wild Card |
| Kaibrienne | "Girl I Am Now" | Safe |
| Nya | "Georgia on My Mind" | Wild Card |
| Jayna Elise | "My All" | Wild Card |
| Abi Carter | "Welcome to the Black Parade" | Safe |
| Will Moseley | "Makin' Me Look Good Again" | Safe |
| McKenna Faith Breinholt | "Both Sides, Now" | Safe |
| Julia Gagnon | "I Believe" | Safe |
| Contestant | Song | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Quintavious | "Make It Happen" | Eliminated |
| McKenna Faith Breinholt | "Tumbleweed" | Safe |
| Jordan Anthony | "Attention" | Saved by the judges |
| Jack Blocker | "Feeling Whitney" | Safe |
| Kennedy Reid | "Somethin' Bad" | Eliminated |
| Jennifer Jeffries | "All I Want" | Eliminated |
| Ajii | "Call Out My Name" | Eliminated |
| Mia Matthews | "Burning House" | Safe |
| Kayko | "What If?" | Safe |
| Nya | "Water" | Saved by the judges |
| Will Moseley | "Gone For Good" | Safe |
| Abi Carter | "My Mind" | Safe |
| Odell Bunton Jr. | "Wait on You" | Eliminated |
| Kaibrienne | "Zombie" | Safe |
| Mackenzie Sol | "False Alarms" | Eliminated |
| Emmy Russell | "Skinny" | Safe |
| Julia Gagnon | "Need a Favor" | Safe |
| Jayna Elise | "All I Wanted" | Saved by the judges |
| Triston Harper | "'Til You Can't" | Safe |
| Roman Collins | "It's a Man's Man's Man's World" | Saved by the judges |
| Performer | Song |
|---|---|
| Teddy Swims | "Lose Control" |
| Paul Russell | "Lil Boo Thang" |
| Lauren Spencer-Smith | "Fingers Crossed" |
Color key:
This contestant was saved by America's vote. |
This contestant was saved by the judges. |
This contestant was eliminated. |
This contestant wonAmerican Idol. |
This contestant was the runner-up. |
This contestant finished in third place. |
Gene Simmons served as a guest mentor for the week. Each contestant performed one song from inductees of theRock and Roll Hall of Fame. Contestants are listed in the order they performed.
| Contestant | Song | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Triston Harper | "Heartbreak Hotel" | Safe |
| Julia Gagnon | "Run to You" | Safe |
| Roman Collins | "You're All I Need to Get By" | Safe |
| Kaibrienne | "I Hate Myself for Loving You" | Safe |
| Jayna Elise | "I Have Nothing" | Safe |
| Mia Matthews | "Those Memories of You" | Safe |
| Kayko | "High and Dry" | Safe |
| Emmy Russell | "I Can't Make You Love Me" | Safe |
| Jordan Anthony | "I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)" | Eliminated |
| McKenna Faith Breinholt | "Hard to Say I'm Sorry" | Safe |
| Jack Blocker | "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right" | Safe |
| Nya | "I Say a Little Prayer" | Eliminated |
| Will Moseley | "Night Moves" | Safe |
| Abi Carter | "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" | Safe |
| Performer | Song |
|---|---|
| Luke Bryan | "Small Town" |
Meghan Trainor served as a guest mentor this week. Each contestant performed aBillboard #1 song. Contestants are listed in the order they performed.
| Contestant | Song | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Abi Carter | "All Too Well" | Safe |
| Will Moseley | "Starting Over" | Safe |
| Jayna Elise | "Diamonds" | Eliminated |
| Mia Matthews | "Over You" | Safe |
| Roman Collins | "Roar" | Eliminated |
| Jack Blocker | "Blinding Lights" | Safe |
| Emmy Russell | "Lose You to Love Me" | Safe |
| Triston Harper | "Beautiful Crazy" | Safe |
| Julia Gagnon | "Something in the Orange" | Safe |
| Kaibrienne | "Wrecking Ball" | Safe |
| McKenna Faith Breinholt | "Cardigan" | Safe |
| Kayko | "Somebody That I Used to Know" | Safe |
| Performer | Song |
|---|---|
| David Archuleta | "Hell Together" |
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.
| Contestant | Song | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Mia Matthews | "No One Needs to Know" | Eliminated |
| Jack Blocker | "Believe" | Safe |
| McKenna Faith Breinholt | "Iris" | Safe |
| Kayko | "Teenage Dirtbag" | Eliminated |
| Emmy Russell | "All the Small Things" | Safe |
| Triston Harper | "She's Country" | Safe |
| Abi Carter | "Clocks" | Safe |
| Julia Gagnon | "Here I Am" | Safe |
| Will Moseley | "Modern Day Bonnie and Clyde" | Safe |
| Kaibrienne | "Here Without You" | Safe |
| Performer | Song |
|---|---|
| Just Sam | "One Moment in Time" |
| Scotty McCreery | "Cab in a Solo" |
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.
| Contestant | Song | Selected by | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Will Moseley | "Folsom Prison Blues" | Lionel Richie | Safe |
| Kaibrienne | "Traitor" | Katy Perry | Eliminated |
| McKenna Faith Breinholt | "Everywhere I Go" | Saved by Katy Perry | |
| Jack Blocker | "Always on My Mind" | Safe | |
| Abi Carter | "Bring Me to Life" | Luke Bryan | Safe |
| Julia Gagnon | "Over the Rainbow" | Safe | |
| Triston Harper | "Sand in My Boots" | Lionel Richie | Safe |
| Emmy Russell | "Coal Miner's Daughter" | Katy Perry | Safe |
| Performers | Song |
|---|---|
| Jack Blocker & Emmy Russell | "Hello" |
| Triston Harper & Will Moseley | "What Makes You Country" |
| Melinda Doolittle,Colton Dixon andDanny Gokey | "Shackles (Praise You)" (Tribute toMandisa) |
| Abi Carter, McKenna Faith Breinholt, Julia Gagnon, and Kaibrienne | "Wide Awake" |
Ciara served as a guest mentor for this week. Each contestant performed two songs: one dance song and one song fromAdele's discography. Contestants are listed in the order they performed.
| Contestant | Order | Song | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jack Blocker | 1 | "Long Tall Sally" | Safe |
| 9 | "One and Only" | ||
| Julia Gagnon | 2 | "Roam" | Eliminated |
| 11 | "Set Fire to the Rain" | ||
| Abi Carter | 3 | "My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark (Light Em Up)" | Safe |
| 14 | "Hello" | ||
| McKenna Faith Breinholt | 4 | "E.T." | Eliminated |
| 8 | "Make You Feel My Love" | ||
| Will Moseley | 5 | "Gimme Three Steps" | Safe |
| 10 | "Rolling in the Deep" | ||
| Emmy Russell | 6 | "Shut Up and Dance" | Safe |
| 12 | "Water Under the Bridge" | ||
| Triston Harper | 7 | "T-R-O-U-B-L-E" | Safe |
| 13 | "Easy on Me" |
| Performer | Song |
|---|---|
| Meghan Trainor | "To the Moon" "Been Like This" |
Kane Brown served as a guest mentor this week. Each contestant performed two songs fromDisney films. Contestants are listed in the order they performed.
| Contestant | Order | Song | Disney film | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abi Carter | 1 | "Part of Your World" | The Little Mermaid | Safe |
| 8 | "The Chain" | Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 | ||
| Triston Harper | 2 | "Almost There" | The Princess and the Frog | Eliminated |
| 7 | "Life Is a Highway" | Cars | ||
| Emmy Russell | 3 | "The Climb" | Hannah Montana: The Movie | Eliminated |
| 6 | "Carried Me with You" | Onward | ||
| Jack Blocker | 4 | "Nobody's Fool" | Cars 2 | Safe |
| 9 | "Space Oddity" | Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny | ||
| Will Moseley | 5 | "The Ballad of the Lonesome Cowboy" | Toy Story 4 | Safe |
| 10 | "Born to Be Wild" | D3: The Mighty Ducks |
| Performers | Song |
|---|---|
| Lionel Richie, Luke Bryan, Katy Perry, andRyan Seacrest | "You've Got a Friend in Me" |
| Jenifer Lewis andTerence Blanchard | "Dig a Little Deeper" |
Jon Bon Jovi served as a guest mentor this week. Each contestant performed two songs – one from theJon 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.
| Contestant | Order | Song | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Will Moseley | 1 | "It's My Life" | Runner-up |
| 4 | "My Town" | ||
| 7 | "Good Book Bad" | ||
| Jack Blocker | 2 | "I'll Be There for You" | Third place |
| 5 | "All My Ex's Live in Texas" | ||
| Abi Carter | 3 | "Bed of Roses" | Winner |
| 6 | "Somewhere" | ||
| 8 | "This Isn't Over" |
| Performers | Song |
|---|---|
| Top 3 | "Livin' on a Prayer" |
| Top 3 withJon Bon Jovi | "Legendary" |
| Julia Gagnon withJason Mraz | "I Feel Like Dancing" |
| Jayna Elise withSeal | "Crazy" |
| McKenna Faith Breinholt and Kaibrienne withJames Bay | "Let It Go" |
| Luke Bryan | "Love You, Miss You, Mean It" |
| Mia Matthews with Luke Bryan | "Run" |
| Top 12 withLionel Richie | "Running with the Night" |
| Triston Harper withCody Johnson | "'Til You Can't" |
| Bishop Briggs | "Triumph" |
| Abi Carter with Bishop Briggs | "River" |
| Will Moseley, Jack Blocker, Triston Harper, Kayko, and Roman Collins withNick Fradiani | "America" "Sweet Caroline" |
| Will Moseley withHootie & the Blowfish | "Hold My Hand" "Let Her Cry" "Only Wanna Be with You" |
| Jack Blocker withKaty Perry | "What Makes a Woman" |
| New Kids on the Block | "Kids" |
| Kayko with New Kids on the Block | "You Got It (The Right Stuff)" |
| Emmy Russell withWynonna | "Coal Miner's Daughter" "No One Else on Earth" |
| Roman Collins withCeCe Winans | "Goodness of God" |
| Abi Carter, Emmy Russell, Julia Gagnon, McKenna Faith Breinholt, Kaibrienne, Mia Matthews, and Jayna Elise | "Teenage Dream" "Dark Horse" "California Gurls" |
| Abi Carter | "What Was I Made For?" |
Color key:
| Contestant | Pl. | Top 24 | Top 20 | Top 14 | Top 12 | Top 10 | Top 8 | Top 7 | Top 5 | Finale | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4/7 | 4/8 | 4/14 | 4/21 | 4/22 | 4/28 | 4/29 | 5/5 | 5/12 | 5/19 | ||
| Abi Carter | 1 | Safe | N/A | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Winner |
| Will Moseley | 2 | Safe | N/A | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Runner-up |
| Jack Blocker | 3 | N/A | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Third place |
| Emmy Russell | 4 | N/A | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Eliminated | |
| Triston Harper | N/A | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | |||
| Julia Gagnon | 6 | Safe | N/A | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Eliminated | ||
| McKenna Faith Breinholt | Safe | N/A | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Saved | ||||
| Kaibrienne | 8 | Safe | N/A | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Eliminated | |||
| Kayko | 9 | Safe | N/A | Safe | Safe | Safe | Eliminated | ||||
| Mia Matthews | N/A | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | ||||||
| Jayna Elise | 11 | Safe | N/A | Saved | Safe | Eliminated | |||||
| Roman Collins | N/A | Safe | Saved | Safe | |||||||
| Jordan Anthony | 13 | Safe | N/A | Saved | Eliminated | ||||||
| Nya | Safe | N/A | Saved | ||||||||
| Ajii | N/A | Safe | Eliminated | ||||||||
| Odell Bunton Jr. | N/A | Safe | |||||||||
| Jennifer Jeffries | N/A | Safe | |||||||||
| Quintavious | Safe | N/A | |||||||||
| Kennedy Reid | N/A | Safe | |||||||||
| Mackenzie Sol | N/A | Safe | |||||||||
| Elleigh Marie | N/A | Eliminated | |||||||||
| KBlocks | N/A | ||||||||||
| Hailey Mia | Eliminated | ||||||||||
| Blake Proehl | |||||||||||
| No. | Title | Air date | Timeslot (ET) | Rating/share (18–49) | Viewers (millions) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Auditions, Part 1" | February 18, 2024 | Sunday 8:00 p.m. | 0.6/6 | 4.62[25] |
| 2 | "Auditions, Part 2" | February 25, 2024 | 0.6/6 | 4.79[26] | |
| 3 | "Auditions, Part 3" | March 3, 2024 | 0.6/7 | 5.11[27] | |
| 4 | "Auditions, Part 4" | March 17, 2024 | 0.5/6 | 4.79[28] | |
| 5 | "Auditions, Part 5" | March 24, 2024 | 0.4/4 | 4.25[29] | |
| 6 | "Hollywood Week - Idol Arena" | March 31, 2024 | 0.6/6 | 4.40[30] | |
| 7 | "Showstopper/Final Judgment" | April 1, 2024 | Monday 8:00 p.m. | 0.4/4 | 3.88[31] |
| 8 | "Top 24 at Disney's Aulani Resort in Hawaii Part #1" | April 7, 2024 | Sunday 8:00 p.m. | 0.5/5 | 4.36[32] |
| 9 | "Top 24 at Disney's Aulani Resort in Hawaii Part #2" | April 8, 2024 | Monday 8:00 p.m. | 0.5/5 | 4.15[33] |
| 10 | "Top 20" | April 14, 2024 | Sunday 8:00 p.m. | 0.5/6 | 4.24[34] |
| 11 | "Top 14 Reveal" | April 15, 2024 | Monday 8:00 p.m. | 0.4/4 | 3.94[35] |
| 12 | "Rock & Roll Hall of Fame" | April 21, 2024 | Sunday 8:00 p.m. | 0.5/5 | 5.13[36] |
| 13 | "Billboard #1 Hits" | April 22, 2024 | Monday 8:00 p.m. | 0.4/4 | 4.16[37] |
| 14 | "Top 10" / "Shania Twain Mentors the Top 10 on Songs From Their Year of Birth" | April 28, 2024 | Sunday 8:00 p.m. | 0.6/7 | 5.31[38] |
| 15 | "Judge's Song Contest" | April 29, 2024 | Monday 8:00 p.m. | 0.5/5 | 4.62[39] |
| 16 | "Adele Night" | May 5, 2024 | Sunday 8:00 p.m. | 0.5/6 | 4.96[40] |
| 17 | "Disney Night" | May 12, 2024 | 0.6/7 | 5.22[41] | |
| 18 | "Grand Finale" | May 19, 2024 | 0.7/7 | 5.64[42] |
Katy Perry is leavingAmerican Idol after seven seasons. She surprised fans on Monday'sJimmy Kimmel Live! by casually revealing her exit.
…Santa Barbara, Tuskegee, and Leesburg. Notice something odd about the last three cities? They are not known to be the typical citiesIdol holds their auditions, but they are rather the judges' hometowns.
Just 56 contestants remain of the 143 brought to Hollywood. Tomorrow night this group will be narrowed down to just 24 in the iconic Showstoppers Round.
It's common for the contestants to be in the audience watching each other perform during Hollywood Week, but it's the added element of surprise--they don't know when they'll have to perform--that will cause a lot of stress.
An epic start to Hollywood Week onAmerican Idol, as our three platinum ticket powerhouses performCalifornia Dreamin' on the Idol Arena stage! Give it up for Abi Carter, Julia Gagnon, and Odell Bunton Jr.!