American Idol (season 18)
The eighteenth season of the reality show singing competition American Idol premiered on February 16, 2020 on ABC. It is the third season to air on ABC since the series reboot; Katy Perry, Luke Bryan, and Lionel Richie returned as judges despite budget cuts. Ryan Seacrest continued as show host, Bobby Bones returned as in-house mentor.
Taping was suspended after the Top 21 were revealed, and the contestants were sent home, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 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 have, according to Billboard, 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 treated equally with similar equipment and resource access. Segments were taped—usually a day—in advance except for judges reactions, and voting results which aired live. The number of episodes is unlikely to change.
On May 17, 2020, Just Sam was crowned as the winner, with Arthur Gunn finishing as the runner-up. With Sam's win, she became the fourth African-American female to win the show, after Fantasia, Jordin Sparks, and Candice Glover. Sam is also the second female to win the competition since the show had relaunched on ABC, and the seventh overall.
Preliminary auditions
- This venue was for registration.
- This venue was for the audition.
Regional auditions
Hollywood Week
Hollywood Week was filmed December 2–5, 2019, at the Orpheum Theatre in Los Angeles, California. There were several changes this season. Instead of the usual concepts of Hollywood Week with Lines of Ten, Group Rounds, and Solo Round, this season the 167 contestants faced the Genre Challenge. The contestants chose from genres given, Pop, Rock, R&B, Soul, Country, and Singer-Songwriter, and picked a song and were assessed amongst their group. After all performed, the judges brought the contestants to stage, similar to Lines of Ten, and made their decision. The Group Round was replaced with a Duet Round, in which the remaining contestants picked a duet partner and their song from a list provided. They were given twelve hours to rehearse including a session with a vocal coach, and later, a stage rehearsal. The judges decided if one, both, or neither moved to the Solo Round for which the remaining contestants performed with a backing band. The Top 40 were flown to Hawaii for a Showcase round to determine the Top 20 advancing to the live shows.Showcase Round
The Showcase Round aired on March 29 and April 5, featuring the top forty performing for the judges and a live audience at Aulani resort in Kapolei, Hawaii. The following day, the judges narrowed the number of contestants down to twenty-one in the Final Judgment. The following is a list of the contestants who performed, the song they performed at the Showcase, and if they advanced or not. The placements of Grace Leer and Lauren Mascitti was determined by a vote.;Color key
- The placements of Grace Leer and Lauren Mascitti were revealed on Sunday, April 19.
Remote shows
Week 1: Top 20 (April 26)
Week 2: Top 11 Homeward Bound (May 3)
The Top Ten was determined by viewer votes—and the judges were given a one-time Judges Save which they used to add an additional singer.| Order | Contestant | Song | Result |
| 1 | Louis Knight | "In My Place" | Safe |
| 2 | Julia Gargano | "New York State of Mind" | Safe |
| 3 | Jovin Webb | "Voodoo" | Eliminated |
| 4 | Grace Leer | "Over the Rainbow" | Eliminated |
| 5 | Jonny West | "Faithfully" | Safe |
| 6 | Sophia James | "In My Room" | Eliminated |
| 7 | Arthur Gunn | "Take Me Home, Country Roads" | Safe |
| 8 | Just Sam | "Grandma's Hands" | Safe |
| 9 | Dillon James | "Yesterday" | Safe |
| 10 | Francisco Martin | "Falling Like the Stars" | Safe |
| 11 | Makayla Phillips | "The House That Built Me" | Eliminated |
Week 3: Top 7 Disney Night/Mother's Day (May 10)
The remaining seven contestants were asked to perform Disney songs and a song dedicated to their mothers.| Contestant | Order | Disney Song | Order | Mother's Day Song | Result |
| Arthur Gunn | 1 | "Kiss the Girl" | 8 | "Hey, Ma" | Safe |
| Just Sam | 2 | "A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes" | 9 | "I Turn to You" | Safe |
| Jonny West | 3 | "Almost There" | 10 | "Amazing Grace" | Safe |
| Louis Knight | 4 | "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" | 11 | "You've Got a Friend" | Eliminated |
| Julia Gargano | 5 | "Beauty and the Beast" | 12 | "Sweetest Devotion" | Eliminated |
| Francisco Martin | 6 | "You'll Be in My Heart" | 13 | "River" | Safe |
| Dillon James | 7 | "Our Town" | 14 | "Hang On, Hang On" | Safe |
| Order | Performers | Song |
| 15.1 | Laine Hardy | "Life Is a Highway" |
Week 4: Finale (May 17)
;Color key:| Contestant | Order | Celebration Song | Order | Final Song | Result |
| Dillon James | 1 | "Change the World" | 6 | "The Times They Are a-Changin'" | Eliminated |
| Francisco Martin | 2 | "Adore You" | 7 | "Alaska" | Eliminated |
| Just Sam | 3 | "Stronger " | 8 | "Rise Up" | Winner |
| Arthur Gunn | 4 | "I Don't Want to Be" | 9 | "Have You Ever Seen the Rain?" | Runner-up |
| Jonny West | 5 | "Can't Keep a Good Man Down" | 10 | "Makin' Love" | Eliminated |
| Order | Performer | Song |
| 16.1 | Luke Bryan | "One Margarita" |
| 16.2 | Rascal Flatts and Doug Kiker | "Bless the Broken Road" |
| 16.3 | Lauren Daigle and Just Sam | "You Say" |
| 16.4 | Katy Perry | "Daisies" |
| 16.5 | Cynthia Erivo & the Top 11 | Medley of :Category:Aretha Franklin songs|Aretha Franklin songs |
| 16.6 | Lionel Richie & the Top 11 and Idol alums | "We Are the World" |
Elimination chart
;Color key:Contestants who appeared on other seasons/shows
- Makayla Phillips was a semi-finalist on America's Got Talent season 13 where she also received a golden buzzer from Heidi Klum during the auditions.
- DeWayne Crocker appeared on BET's Sunday Best.
- Grace Leer appeared on American Juniors and made the Top 20 but didn't advance.
- Margie Mays and Nick Merico were returnees from last season of Idol. Margie was eliminated in Top 40. Nick decided not to attend Hollywood Week due to family issues, although he received a golden ticket in auditions.
- Genavieve Linkowski was a contestant from American Idol where she was eliminated in Hollywood Week.
- Robert Taylor was a Top 10 finalist on The Voice season 8.
- Elyjuh René was a Top 20 finalist on The Voice where he was eliminated during Live Playoffs in season 7.
- Travis Finlay auditioned on the fourteenth season of Idol.
- Jonathan Bach was an artist on the tenth season of The Voice, joined Team Pharrell and eliminated during Battle Round.
- Kayla Ember appeared on on FOX. She did not make it past the initial televised audition, but received positive feedback from judge Sean "Diddy" Combs.
Ratings