American Idol season 21

The twenty-first season of American Idol premiered on February 19, 2023, on the ABC television network. Ryan Seacrest returned as host; Luke Bryan, Katy Perry, and Lionel Richie returned as judges.
Iam Tongi won the season on May 21, 2023, while Megan Danielle was the runner-up, and Colin Stough finished in third place.

Auditions

The Idol Across America virtual auditions program returned from the previous two seasons. Remote auditions took place from August 3 to September 14, 2022, 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.
The "platinum ticket" also returned from last season. During the audition round, a total of three platinum tickets were awarded, and they gave the recipients the opportunity to advance directly to the second round of Hollywood week as well as choose their partners for that week's duet challenge before the remaining contestants were paired. During the American Music Awards, three contestants advancing to Hollywood week also were given the opportunity to win a fourth platinum ticket. The platinum ticket recipients were Cam Amen, Kaylin Hedges, Elijah McCormick, and Tyson Venegas.

City	Filming date	Filming venue
Las Vegas, Nevada	September 26–29, 2022	Waldorf Astoria Las Vegas
New Orleans, Louisiana	October 10–13, 2022	Four Seasons Hotel New Orleans
Nashville, Tennessee	November 10–13, 2022	Kimpton Aertson Hotel

Hollywood week

Hollywood week was filmed December 4–7, 2022, at the Los Angeles Theatre in Los Angeles. There were some changes to the format this season. Instead of having the contestants choose a specific genre, the contestants instead had to choose one area of performance to work on: confidence, songwriting, and stage presence. Contestants were again mentored by American Idol alumni: Clay Aiken and David Archuleta, Phillip Phillips and Catie Turner, and Justin Guarini and Jordin Sparks. Those who impressed the judges advanced to the next round. The contestants performed duets and got to pick their duet partners, but Platinum Ticket winners got to pick first, and they could even pick from each other. They were given twelve hours to rehearse, which included consultation with a vocal coach, a stage rehearsal, and advice from one of the judges. Judges could advance either, neither, or both of the contestants to the Showstopper round.

Showstopper round

The Showstopper round featured the top 55 contestants performing for the judges and a live audience at the Los Angeles Theatre. This round was aired on April 9 and April 10, but only 35 contestants were aired. The judges then narrowed the number of contestants down to 26. The following is a list of the contestants who reached the top 26 and the song they performed. Contestants are listed in the order they performed.

Contestant	Song
Kaeyra	"River"
Warren Peay	"Whipping Post"
Nutsa	"Proud Mary"
Michael Williams	"Angels like You"
PJAE	"I Want You"
Malik Heard	"Can We Talk"
Wé Ani	"Ain't No Way"
Zachariah Smith	"Don't Stop Me Now"
Tyson Venegas	"Cuz I Love You"
Haven Madison	"Bird Set Free"
Lucy Love	"Flying Without Wings"
Paige Anne	"California Dreamin'"
Megan Danielle	"Always Remember Us This Way"
Marybeth Byrd	"Flat on the Floor"
Oliver Steele	"Everybody Wants to Rule the World"
Emma Busse	"Chasing Pavements"
Elijah McCormick	"Believe for It"
Elise Kristine	"Feeling Good"
Olivia Soli	"All by Myself"
Dawson Wayne	"Flying"
Mariah Faith	"I Ain't Living Long Like This"
Hannah Nicolaisen	"I Don't Want to Be"
Nailyah Serenity	"Superstar"
Matt Wilson	"Forever"
Colin Stough	"Cold"
Iam Tongi	"The Sound of Silence"

Top 26 (April 16 & 17)

The top 26 contestants were split into two groups of thirteen and performed one solo each at the Aulani resort in Kapolei, Hawaii. The first group aired on April 16, and the second group on April 17. Allen Stone served as a guest mentor for the first group, and Noah Cyrus for the second group. Three contestants from each group were eliminated based on the public vote, and the rest advanced to the top 20. Contestants are listed in the order they performed.
Color key:

Performer	Song
Allen Stone	"Is This Love"

Top 20 (April 23 & 24)

The top 20 performances aired on Sunday, April 23, followed by the live results show on Monday, April 24.
Color key:

Contestants are listed in the order they performed.

Contestant	Song	Result
Zachariah Smith	"I Want to Know What Love Is"	Safe
Matt Wilson	"Say You Won't Let Go"	Wild Card
Nailyah Serenity	"Baby Love"	Wild Card
Warren Peay	"Up There Down Here"	Safe
Kaeyra	"Bruises"	Wild Card
Mariah Faith	"Cry to Me"	Wild Card
Iam Tongi	"The Winner Takes It All"	Safe
Haven Madison	"Mean Girls"	Safe
Oliver Steele	"Too Soon"	Safe
Lucy Love	"Boulders"	Wild Card
Hannah Nicolaisen	"Somebody to Love"	Wild Card
Olivia Soli	"I Surrender"	Wild Card
Marybeth Byrd	"People Pleaser"	Safe
Michael Williams	"Lose You to Love Me"	Wild Card
Paige Anne	"Say Something"	Wild Card
Nutsa	"Un-Break My Heart"	Wild Card
Tyson Venegas	"180"	Safe
Megan Danielle	"Holy Water"	Safe
Colin Stough	"Pretty Heart"	Safe
Wé Ani	"Skyfall"	Safe

Performers	Song
Smokey Robinson	"I Second That Emotion" "If We Don't Have Each Other"
Noah Thompson & HunterGirl	"One Day Tonight"

Finals

Color key:

Top 12 – Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (April 30)

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.

Contestant	Song	Result
Tyson Venegas	"For Once in My Life"	Safe
Warren Peay	"The House of the Rising Sun"	Safe
Haven Madison	"Livin' on a Prayer"	Safe
Lucy Love	"All Night Long "	Eliminated
Oliver Steele	"Georgia on My Mind"	Safe
Colin Stough	"Midnight Rider"	Safe
Marybeth Byrd	"Dancing Queen"	Safe
Wé Ani	"Something's Got a Hold on Me"	Safe
Nutsa	"The Show Must Go On"	Eliminated
Megan Danielle	"Angel from Montgomery"	Safe
Zachariah Smith	"Don't Bring Me Down"	Safe
Iam Tongi	"Bring It On Home to Me"	Safe

Top 10 – Judges' song contest (May 1)

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
Zachariah Smith	"Wanted Dead or Alive"	Lionel Richie	Safe
Haven Madison	"The Only Exception"	Katy Perry	Safe
Wé Ani	"I Have Nothing"	Luke Bryan	Safe
Oliver Steele	"High and Dry"	Katy Perry	Saved by Katy Perry
Warren Peay	"Colder Weather"	Lionel Richie	Safe
Iam Tongi	"What a Wonderful World"	Luke Bryan	Safe
Marybeth Byrd	"Wasted on You"	Lionel Richie	Eliminated
Tyson Venegas	"Someone You Loved"	Katy Perry	Eliminated
Megan Danielle	"Go Rest High on That Mountain"	Luke Bryan	Safe
Colin Stough	"It's Been Awhile"	Katy Perry	Safe

Top 8 – Alanis Morissette & Ed Sheeran (May 7)

served as a guest mentor this week, and also served as a guest judge along with Ed Sheeran. Each contestant performed two songs: one solo from the Alanis Morissette discography and one song from the Ed Sheeran discography performed as a duet with a fellow contestant. Contestants are listed in the order they performed.

Contestant	Order	Song	Result
Warren Peay	1	"All I Really Want"	Eliminated
Zachariah Smith	2	"Ironic"	Safe
Haven Madison	4	"You Learn"	Eliminated
Colin Stough	6	"Hand in My Pocket"	Safe
Megan Danielle	8	"Head over Feet"	Safe
Iam Tongi	9	"Guardian"	Safe
Wé Ani	10	"Uninvited"	Safe
Oliver Steele	12	"You Oughta Know"	Eliminated
Oliver Steele & Iam Tongi	3	"Photograph"
Wé Ani & Warren Peay	5	"Perfect"
Haven Madison & Zachariah Smith	7	"Thinking Out Loud"
Megan Danielle & Colin Stough	11	"Dive"