Season 20 of American Idol premiered on ABC on Sunday February 27th, 2022 and ended on May 22, 2022. It is the show's fifth season to air on ABC.
Ryan Seacrest return as host, Lionel Richie, Katy Perry and Luke Bryan return as judge.
This will be the first season since Season 15 to not involve Bobby Bones.
This season was won by Noah Thompson.
Auditions[]
Main Article: Season 20 Auditions
Audition Cities[]
The following cities held auditions for Season 20, date of the auditions are also shown.
- Austin, Texas - 0ctober 4-7, 2021
- Los Angeles, California - October 17-20, 2021
- Nashville, Tennessee - November 11-15, 2021
Hollywood Week[]
Hollywood Week was filmed from December 6-9 2021, at the Orpheum Theatre in Los Angeles, California. The Genre and Duet Challenges from the last seasons return. In the Genre Challenge, contestants chose groups based on a specific genre and were mentored by a former Idol alum: Season 10 runner-up Lauren Alaina (Country), Season 2 winner Ruben Studdard (R&B), Season 9 winner Lee DeWyze (Indie Folk), Season 10 finalist Haley Reinhart (Soul), Season 7 winner David Cook (Rock), and Season 6 winner Jordin Sparks (Pop). After all the contestants in the respective groups performed, the judges brought them to the stage and made their decisions. The ones who have made it advanced to the Duet Challenge. The platinum ticket recipients picked their duet partners, while the judges chose for the remaining contestants. The duets were given twelve hours to rehearse, including a session with a vocal coach, a stage rehearsal and advice from one of the judges. The remaining contestants who have passed the Duet Challenge advanced to the Showstopper Round.
Showstopper/Final Judgment[]
The Showstopper & Final Judgement aired on April 4, 2022. It featured the Top 59 contestants. Each contestants performed, and at the end 24 contestants were chosen to move on to the Live shows.
Top 24[]
After the Final Judgement, 24 contestants were chosen to move on to the semifinals.
| Contestant | Song |
|---|---|
| Leah Marlene | "She's a Self Made Man" |
| Jay | "Jar of Hearts" |
| Nicolina | "Rolling in the Deep" |
| Emyrson Flora | "Honey" |
| Katyrah Love | "Sweet Thing" |
| Fritz Hager | "Inconsequential Love" |
| Jacob Moran | "Is That Alright?" |
| Allegra Miles | "Reality" |
| Ava Maybee | "Falling" |
| Cameron Whitcomb | "It Ain't Me Babe" |
| Sir Blayke | "Honesty" |
| Elli Rowe | "Fields of Gold" |
| Mike Parker | "Second Guessing" |
| Tristen Gressett | "Come Together" |
| Christian Guardino | "Sex on Fire" |
| Noah Thompson | "Stay" |
| Cadence Baker | "The Story" |
| HunterGirl | "Girl Goin' Nowhere" |
| Danielle Finn | "Evergreen" |
| Sage | "I Hate This" |
| Kenedi Anderson | "Talking to the Moon" |
| Scarlet | "You Oughta Know" |
| Lady K | "I'd Rather Go Blind" |
| Dan Marshall | "Hard Workin' Man" |
Males:
- Cameron Whitcomb
- Christian Guardino
- Dan Marshall
- Fritz Hager
- Jacob Moran
- Jay
- Mike Parker
- Noah Thompson
- Sir Blayke
- Tristen Gressett
Females:
- Allegra Miles
- Ava Maybee
- Cadence Baker
- Danielle Finn
- Elli Rowe
- Emyrson Flora
- Huntergirl
- Katyrah Love
- Kenedi Anderson (Withdrew)
- Lady K
- Leah Marlene
- Nicolina
- Sage
- Scarlet
Top 24 at Disney's Aulani Resort in Hawaii[]
Main Article: Top 24 (season 20)
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Top 20 (April 17 & 18)[]
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Top 14[]
Top 14 – Breakout hits (April 24)[]
Main Article: Top 14 (Season 20)
| Contestant | Song | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Jay | "Just the Way You Are" | Safe |
| HunterGirl | "Baby Girl" | Safe |
| Christian Guardino | "Take Me to Church" | Safe |
| Dan Marshall | "She's Got It All" | Eliminated |
| Leah Marlene | "Happy Together" | Safe |
| Fritz Hager | "Let It Go" | Safe |
| Tristen Gressett | "Whataya Want from Me" | Safe |
| Lady K | "I Believe" | Safe |
| Allegra Miles | "Ocean Eyes" | Eliminated |
| Ava Maybee | "Sign of the Times" | Eliminated |
| Mike Parker | "Hurricane" | Safe |
| Emyrson Flora | "drivers license" | Safe |
| Noah Thompson | "Stand by Me" | Safe |
| Nicolina | "Hallelujah" | Safe |
Top 14[]
The following contestants advanced to the Top 14:
Males:
- Christian Guardino
- Dan Marshall Griffith
- Fritz Hager
- Jay Copeland
- Mike Parker
- Noah Thompson
- Tristen Gressett
Females:
Top 11 – Judges' song contest (April 25)[]
| Contestant | Song | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Nicolina | "Since U Been Gone" | Safe |
| Mike Parker | "Chasin' You" | Safe |
| Fritz Hager | "Wonderwall" | Safe |
| Christian Guardino | "I'm Not the Only One" | Safe |
| Noah Thompson | "Heartbreak Warfare" | Safe |
| Lady K | "traitor" | Saved by the judges |
| HunterGirl | "9 to 5" | Safe |
| Leah Marlene | "Make You Feel My Love" | Safe |
| Tristen Gressett | "You Can't Always Get What You Want" | Eliminated |
| Emyrson Flora | "Lovely" | Safe |
| Jay | "Lilac Wine" | Safe |
Top 10: Disney Night/The Great Idol Reunion[]
| Contestant | Song | Disney film | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lady K | "How Far I'll Go" | Moana | Eliminated |
| Noah Thompson | "You've Got a Friend in Me" | Toy Story | Safe |
| Emyrson Flora | "Carried Me with You" | Onward | Eliminated |
| HunterGirl | "I See the Light" | Tangled | Safe |
| Jay | "Remember Me" | Coco | Safe |
| Leah Marlene | "When She Loved Me" | Toy Story 2 | Safe |
| Nicolina | "Poor Unfortunate Souls" | The Little Mermaid | Safe |
| Mike Parker | "You'll Be in My Heart" | Tarzan | Eliminated |
| Christian Guardino | "Circle of Life" | The Lion King | Safe |
| Fritz Hager | "Go the Distance" | Hercules | Safe |
Top 10[]
The following contestants advanced to the Top 10:
- Christian Guardino
- Emyrson Flora
- Fritz Hager
- Huntergirl
- Jay Copeland
- Lady K
- Leah Marlene
- Mike Parker
- Nicolina
- Noah Thompson
Top 7[]
Top 7- TikTok & Mother's Day (May 8)[]
| Contestant | Order | Song | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Leah Marlene | 1 | "Electric Love" | Safe |
| 10 | "Sanctuary" | ||
| Jay | 2 | "I Have Nothing" | Eliminated |
| 8 | "A Song for Mama" | ||
| Fritz Hager | 3 | "All My Friends" | Safe |
| 9 | "The Ocean" | ||
| Christian Guardino | 4 | "Lonely" | Eliminated |
| 14 | "Dear God" | ||
| HunterGirl | 5 | "You Broke Me First" | Safe |
| 11 | "Like My Mother Does" | ||
| Noah Thompson | 6 | "Painted Blue" | Safe |
| 12 | "Landslide" | ||
| Nicolina | 7 | "Alone" | Safe |
| 13 | "Light in the Hallway" |
The following contestants advanced to the Top 7:
Top 5[]
Top 5 – Carrie Underwood (May 15)[]
| Contestant | Order | Song | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| HunterGirl | 1 | "Undo It" | Safe |
| 7 | "Girl Crush" | ||
| Leah Marlene | 2 | "I'll Stand by You" | Safe |
| 6 | "Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)" | ||
| Fritz Hager | 3 | "I Wanna Remember" | Eliminated |
| 8 | "Youngblood" | ||
| Noah Thompson | 4 | "So Small" | Safe |
| 10 | "Working Man" | ||
| Nicolina | 5 | "Blown Away" | Eliminated |
| 9 | "All I Ask" |
The following contestants advanced to the Top 5:
Finale[]
Top 3[]
| Contestant | Order | Song | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Leah Marlene | 1 | "Cover Me" | Third place |
| 4 | "Flowers" | ||
| HunterGirl | 2 | "Dancing in the Dark" | Runner-up |
| 6 | "Red Bird" | ||
| 8 | "Riot" | ||
| Noah Thompson | 3 | "I'm on Fire" | Winner |
| 5 | "One Day Tonight" | ||
| 7 | "Stay" |
The following contestants advanced to the Top 3: