American Idol season 16
The sixteenth season of American Idol premiered on March 11, 2018, on the ABC television network. It was the show's first season to air on ABC, and after 15 years, Ryan Seacrest continued his role as host, while Katy Perry, Luke Bryan, and Lionel Richie joined the show as judges. Maddie Poppe won the season on May 21, 2018, while Caleb Lee Hutchinson was the runner-up, and Gabby Barrett finished in third place.
Background
In early 2017, Variety reported that FremantleMedia was in talks to revive the show for either NBC or Fox, the show's original network. A dispute between Fremantle and Core Media Group derailed these plans. In May 2017, it was announced that ABC was making a bid to revive the program. Later, ABC announced that it had acquired the rights to the series and that American Idol would return for the 2017–18 television season. On November 6, 2017, it was announced that the revival would premiere on March 11, 2018.On July 20, 2017, it was announced on Live with Kelly and Ryan that Ryan Seacrest would return as host for the revival season. On May 16, 2017, Katy Perry was the first judge to be announced by ABC. On September 23, Luke Bryan was announced for a second judge, and on September 29, Lionel Richie was announced as the final. On February 21, 2018, it was announced that iHeartRadio radio personality Bobby Bones would serve as the mentor for the top 24 this season.
On April 23, 2018, ABC announced that the April 29, May 6, and May 13 live shows of the season would air across all mainland U.S. time zones, a first for American Idol.
Regional auditions
In June 2017, it was announced that American Idol would begin two bus tours in 19 cities, and this was later increased to 22, for auditions beginning on August 17, 2017. Those who passed the first audition went in front of the producers, where they would be selected to appear before the judges in different cities. Instead of focusing on a city in each episode as had been the case in previous seasons, each episode this season showed a compilation of auditions from different cities.| City | Filming date | Filming venue |
| New York City, New York | October 3–4, 2017 | Madison Square Garden |
| New Orleans, Louisiana | October 14, 2017 | Mardi Gras World |
| Nashville, Tennessee | October 19–20, 2017 | Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum |
| Savannah, Georgia | October 28–29, 2017 | Kehoe Iron Works |
| Los Angeles, California | November 16–17, 2017 | Hollywood and Highland Center |
During the live broadcast of the 2017 American Music Awards, three contestants who did not advance after their auditions in front of the judges were given one more chance to convince the audience to vote for them. The contestants were Britany Holmes, Maris, and Dominique Smith. The winner of the golden ticket to Hollywood was then revealed the next night on an episode of Dancing with the Stars. Lionel Richie appeared in the show and announced that the vote was in favor of Britney Holmes, a 28-year-old vocal coach from Texas, who advanced to Hollywood as the first semifinalist of the season.
Hollywood week
Hollywood Week aired over two episodes on March 26 and April 1. It featured three rounds: lines of ten, a group round, and a solo round. In the first round, each contestant sang individually, and after ten had sung, they gathered in a line. Those who impressed the judges and the producers were advanced to the next round, where the contestants performed together in groups of four or five. The contestants who passed the group rounds performed their final solos before advancing to the Showcase round.Showcase round
The Showcase round aired on April 2, which featured the top 50 performing for the judges and a live audience at Exchange LA, a nightclub in Los Angeles. On April 3, the judges narrowed the number of contestants down from 50 to 24. The top 24 contestants then moved on to perform solos and celebrity duets.Here is a list of the contestants who reached the top 24 and the song they performed at the Showcase. Contestants are listed in the order they performed.
| Contestant | Song |
| Layla Spring | "Proud Mary" |
| Michael J. Woodard | "You Oughta Know" |
| Gabby Barrett | "Church Bells" |
| Michelle Sussett | "24K Magic" |
| Dominique | "Landslide" |
| Trevor McBane | "Wake Me Up" |
| Maddie Poppe | "Me and Bobby McGee" |
| Ron Bultongez | "All I Want" |
| Alyssa Raghu | "Every Breath You Take" |
| Catie Turner | "Bad Romance" |
| Jurnee | "Never Enough" |
| Shannon O'Hara | "Unconditionally" |
| Kay Kay | "Brokenhearted" |
| Amelia Hammer Harris | "Paint It Black" |
| Brandon Diaz | "Let's Get It On" |
| Adam Sanders | "Creep" |
| Jonny Brenns | "Lay Me Down" |
| Mara Justine | "Something's Got a Hold on Me" |
| Caleb Lee Hutchinson | "I Was Wrong" |
| Garrett Jacobs | "Knock on Wood" |
| Cade Foehner | "No Good" |
| Effie Passero | "The Dance" |
| Marcio Donaldson | "If You Really Love Me" |
| Dennis Lorenzo | "A Song for You" |
Top 24
The top 24 contestants were split into two groups of twelve. Prerecorded performances of the first group aired on April 8 and 9, and the second group on April 15 and 16. On the first episode, each contestant performed one solo; and on the second episode, each contestant performed one duet with a celebrity singer. The judges then eliminated five contestants from each group on the second episode.The artists who performed duets with the top 24 were Banners, Aloe Blacc, Bishop Briggs, Cam, Colbie Caillat, Luis Fonsi, Andy Grammer, Lea Michele, Patrick Monahan, Rachel Platten, Bebe Rexha, Sugarland, and Allen Stone.
Color key:
Group 1
Contestants are listed in the order they performed.Group 2Contestants are listed in the order they performed.
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