The eighteenth season of American Idol premiered on February 16, 2020, on the ABC television network. Luke Bryan, Katy Perry, and Lionel Richie returned as judges, while Ryan Seacrest continued as host. Bobby Bones returned as the in-house mentor.
Taping was suspended after the top 19 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, 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 was treated equally, with access to similar equipment and resources. Segments were usually taped a day in advance, except for the judges' critiques and voting results, which aired live.
On May 17, 2020, Just Sam was crowned as the winner, with Arthur Gunn finishing as the runner-up.
Due to this season's contestants never having an opportunity to perform on the live stage because of COVID-19 safety restrictions, American Idol invited ten contestants back onto the following season to compete for a re-entry spot—as voted upon by the public—as part of the top ten, after which they would still be eligible for votes or elimination as usual. This group included three finalists (runner-up Gunn; Louis Knight; and Makayla Phillips) and seven semi-finalists (Aliana Jester, Cyniah Elise, DeWayne Crocker Jr., Faith Becnel, Franklin Boone, Nick Merico, and Olivia Ximines), with Gunn ultimately being selected by the public's votes to join Season 19. He tied with Hunter Metts for sixth place.
Regional auditions +American Idol (season 18) – regional auditions City Filming date(s) Filming venue Savannah, Georgia September 30 – October 1, 2019 Perry Lane Hotel Milwaukee, Wisconsin October 8–9, 2019 Milwaukee Art Museum Washington, D.C. October 14–15, 2019 The Wharf Los Angeles, California November 1–2, 2019 South Park Center Portland, Oregon November 7–8, 2019 Great Hall (Sunriver Resort)
Hollywood week Hollywood week was filmed December 2–5, 2019, at the Orpheum Theatre in Los Angeles. There were several changes in format this season. In the first round, each contestant chose and performed a song from a selection of musical genres (pop, rock, R&B, soul, country, or singer-songwriter). Those who impressed the judges and the producers were advanced to the next round. Instead of group performances as had been done in previous seasons, contestants paired up and performed duets. They were given twelve hours to rehearse, which included a session with a vocal coach and a stage rehearsal. Judges could advance either, neither, or both of the contestants to the next round, where they performed their final solos before advancing to the Showcase round.
Showcase round The Showcase round aired on March 29 and April 5, and featured the top 40 performing for the judges and a live audience at Disney's Aulani resort in Kapolei, Hawaii. The following day, the judges narrowed the number of contestants down from 40 to 20. The following is a list of the first nineteen contestants who reached the top 20 and the song they performed at the Showcase. For the twentieth and final spot, Grace Leer and Lauren Mascetti's result was determined by a vote from the public, which was revealed on April 19. Contestants are listed in the order they performed.
+Showcase round (March 29 & April 5) Contestant Song Nick Merico "When I Was Your Man" DeWayne Crocker, Jr. "Old Town Road" Louis Knight "Castle on the Hill" Francisco Martin "Falling" Jovin Webb "You Are the Best Thing" Faith Becnel "Ain't Nobody" Just Sam "Como la Flor" Jonny West "You Found Me" Dillon James "The Times They Are a-Changin'" Franklin Boone "Daughters" Julia Gargano "Glitter in the Air" Aliana Jester "This is Me" Sophia James "Levels" Kimmy Gabriela "You Don't Do It for Me Anymore" Cyniah Elise "Lady Marmalade" Makayla Phillips "Sorry Not Sorry" Lauren Spencer-Smith "Respect" Olivia Ximines "Proud Mary" Arthur Gunn "Is This Love"
+Showcase voting round (April 19) Contestant Song Result Grace Leer "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" Advanced Lauren Mascetti "Two More Bottles of Wine" Eliminated
Finals After a short hiatus, production resumed and all contestants performed remotely due to safety measures in place during the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, Ryan Seacrest and the judges were also broadcast from their homes.
Color key:
Top 20 (April 26) The ten contestants who received the most votes continued on, while the judges were granted a one-time judges' save, which they used to save Makayla Phillips from elimination. Contestants are listed in the order they performed. +Top 20 (April 26)ContestantSongResult Kimmy Gabriela "Leave Me Lonely" Eliminated Jovin Webb "With a Little Help from My Friends" Safe Franklin Boone "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" Eliminated Olivia Ximines "Bad Guy" Eliminated Louis Knight "If the World Was Ending" Safe Makayla Phillips "Greedy" Saved Aliana Jester "Run to You" Eliminated Faith Becnel "River" Eliminated Nick Merico "Hey There Delilah" Eliminated Lauren Spencer-Smith "Mamma Knows Best" Eliminated Cyniah Elise "Warrior" Eliminated Francisco Martin "Teenage Dream" Safe Sophia James "Burning" Safe DeWayne Crocker Jr. "I Got You (I Feel Good)" Eliminated Dillon James "Let It Be Me" Safe Arthur Gunn "Lovin' Machine" Safe Julia Gargano "Human" Safe Grace Leer "Cry" Safe Just Sam "I Believe" Safe Jonny West "What a Wonderful World" Safe
Top 11 (May 3) Contestants are listed in the order they performed.
+Top 11 (May 3)ContestantSongResult Louis Knight "In My Place" Safe Julia Gargano "New York State of Mind" Safe Jovin Webb "Voodoo" Eliminated Grace Leer "Over the Rainbow" Eliminated Jonny West "Faithfully" Safe Sophia James "In My Room" Eliminated Arthur Gunn "Take Me Home, Country Roads" Safe Just Sam "Grandma's Hands" Safe Dillon James "Yesterday" Safe Francisco Martin "Falling Like the Stars" Safe Makayla Phillips "The House That Built Me" Eliminated + Non-competition performancePerformersSong Phillip Phillips "Home"
Top 7 – Disney and Mother's Day (May 10) Each contestant performed two songs: one song from a Disney movie, and one song in honor of Mother's Day. Contestants are listed in the order they performed.
+ Top 7 (May 10) Contestant Order Song Result Arthur Gunn 1 "Kiss the Girl"(from The Little Mermaid) Safe 8 "Hey, Ma" Just Sam 2 "A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes"(from Cinderella) Safe 9 "I Turn to You" Jonny West 3 "Almost There"(from The Princess and the Frog) Safe 10 "Amazing Grace" Louis Knight 4 "Can You Feel the Love Tonight"(from The Lion King) Eliminated 11 "You've Got a Friend" Julia Gargano 5 "Beauty and the Beast"(from Beauty and the Beast) Eliminated 12 "Sweetest Devotion" Francisco Martin 6 "You'll Be in My Heart"(from Tarzan) Safe 13 "River" Dillon James 7 "Our Town"(from Cars) Safe 14 "Hang On, Hang On" + Non-competition performance Performers Song Laine Hardy "Life Is a Highway"
Top 5 – Finale (May 17) Each contestant performed two songs, and are listed in the order they performed.
Contestant Order Song Result Dillon James 1 "Change the World" Finalist 6 "The Times They Are a-Changin'" Francisco Martin 2 "Adore You" Finalist 7 "Alaska" Just Sam 3 "Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)" Winner 8 "Rise Up" Arthur Gunn 4 "I Don't Want to Be" Runner-up 9 "Have You Ever Seen the Rain?" Jonny West 5 "Can't Keep a Good Man Down" Finalist 10 "Makin' Love" + Non-competition performances Performers Song Luke Bryan "One Margarita" Doug Kikerwith Rascal Flatts "Bless the Broken Road" Just Samwith Lauren Daigle "You Say" Katy Perry "Daisies" Top 11with Cynthia Erivo Aretha Franklin medley Top 11with Lionel Richie and American Idol alumni "We Are the World"
Alejandro Aranda, Fantasia, Gabby Barrett, Jordin Sparks, Katharine McPhee, Kellie Pickler, Laine Hardy, Lauren Alaina, Phillip Phillips, Ruben Studdard and Scotty McCreery were former contestants who sang with the American Idol Top 11 contestants with Lionel Richie.
Elimination chart Color key:
+ American Idol (season 18) – Eliminations Contestant Top 20 Top 11 Top 7 Finale 4/26 5/3 5/10 5/17 Just Sam 1 Safe Safe Safe Winner Arthur Gunn 2 Safe Safe Safe Runner-up Dillon James 3 Safe Safe Safe Finalist Francisco Martin Safe Safe Safe Jonny West Safe Safe Safe Julia Gargano 6 Safe Safe Eliminated Louis Knight Safe Safe Sophia James 8 Safe Eliminated Grace Leer Safe Makayla Phillips Saved Jovin Webb Safe Faith Becnel Eliminated Franklin Boone Dewayne Crocker Jr. Cyniah Elise Kimmy Gabriela Aliana Jester Nick Merico Lauren Spencer-Smith Olivia Ximines
Ratings
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