The twenty-second season of American Idol premiered on February 18, 2024, on the ABC television network. Ryan Seacrest returned as host; Luke Bryan, Katy Perry, and Lionel Richie returned as judges. This season was Perry's final one on the show; she announced her departure on February 13, 2024, five days before the premiere.
Abi Carter won the season on May 19, 2024, while Will Moseley was the runner-up, and Jack Blocker finished in third place.
Auditions The Idol Across America virtual auditions program returned. Remote auditions took place from August 2 to September 8, 2023, 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. There were three new locations, the hometowns of the judges: Leesburg (Bryan), Tuskegee (Richie), and Santa Barbara (Perry).
The "platinum ticket" also returned from the previous two seasons. During the audition round, a total of three platinum tickets were awarded. The platinum ticket recipients were Odell Bunton Jr., Abi Carter, and Julia Gagnon. Carter was the first "platinum ticket" recipient to win the series.
+American Idol (season 22) – auditions City Filming date(s) Filming venue Leesburg, Georgia September 19–20, 2023 Lee County High School Tuskegee, Alabama October 2–3, 2023 Tuskegee University Santa Barbara, California October 17–18, 2023 Music Academy of the West Los Angeles October 24–25, 2023 Calamigos Ranch Nashville November 11–12, 2023 Graduate Nashville
Hollywood week Hollywood week was filmed on December 10, 2023, at the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica. Dubbed the "Idol Arena", each contestant was chosen at random to perform a solo, and fifty-six of them advanced to the next round. The platinum ticket recipients (Abi Carter, Julia Gagnon, and Odell Bunton Jr.) sang "California Dreamin'" by The Mamas & the Papas as a trio. The advantage they received was the ability to skip this round, they were asked to do a bonus performance. The season did not feature a duet round. The "Showstoppers" round determined the Top 24 semifinalists.
Showstopper round
The Showstopper round featured the top 56 contestants performing for the judges and a live audience at the Barker Hangar. The round was filmed on December 11, 2023, and aired on April 1, 2024. The judges narrowed the number of contestants to 24. Here is a list of the contestants who reached the top 24 and the song they performed. Contestants are listed in the order they performed.
+Showstopper round (April 1) Contestant Song Jordan Anthony "Love in the Dark" Odell Bunton Jr. "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" Nya "Get Ready" Blake Proehl "In My Blood" Triston Harper "By Your Grace" Roman Collins "Come Together" Kaibrienne "Simple Man" Jack Blocker "You Should've Seen the Other Guy" McKenna Faith Breinholt "Anyone" Mia Matthews "You Ain't Woman Enough (To Take My Man)" Emmy Russell "More Hearts Than Mine" Will Moseley "Ain't No Sunshine" Ajii "Too Close" KAYKO "Gives You Hell" Elleigh Marie "Golden Slumbers" Kennedy Reid "Total Eclipse of the Heart" KBlocks "River" Abi Carter "If I Could Turn Back Time" Jayna Elise "It's All Coming Back to Me Now" Quintavious "You Say" Hailey Mia "Alive" Jennifer Jeffries "Northern Attitude" Julia Gagnon "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" Mackenzie Sol "With a Little Help from My Friends"
Top 24 (April 7 & 8) The top 24 contestants were split into two groups of twelve and performed one solo each at the Aulani resort in Kapolei, Hawaii. The first group taped on February 7 and aired on April 7, while the second group taped on February 8 and aired on April 8. Tori Kelly served as a guest mentor and judge for the first group, and Jelly Roll for the second group. Two contestants from each group will be eliminated based on the public vote, and the rest will advance to the top 20. Contestants are listed in the order they performed.
Color key:
+ Group 1 (April 7)ContestantSongResult Hailey Mia "she's all i wanna be" Eliminated Jordan Anthony "Titanium" Safe Jayna Elise "Confident" Safe Julia Gagnon "Rumour Has It" Safe KAYKO "How to Live Without You" Safe Nya "The Best" Safe Blake Proehl "Anyone" Eliminated Abi Carter "Oceans (Where Feet May Fail)" Safe Quintavious "Something in the Water" Safe Kaibrienne "Heaven" Safe Will Moseley "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay" Safe McKenna Faith Breinholt "The Story" Safe+ Group 2 (April 8)ContestantSongResult Odell Bunton Jr. "Uptown Funk" Safe Elleigh Marie "Forget You" Eliminated Mackenzie Sol "Jealous" Safe Jennifer Jeffries "Bruises" Safe Emmy Russell "Beautiful Things" Safe Ajii "Higher" Safe Kennedy Reid "Fancy" Safe Jack Blocker "Rainbow" Safe Roman Collins "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You)" Safe KBlocks "Harleys in Hawaii" Eliminated Mia Matthews "Daddy's Hands" Safe Triston Harper "God's Country" Safe
+ Non-competition performances (April 7) Performer Song Tori Kelly "High Water" Iam Tongi "Why Kiki?"
+ Non-competition performance (April 8) Performer Song Jelly Roll "Halfway to Hell"
Top 20 (April 14 & 15) The top 20 performances were taped on Wednesday, April 10 and aired on Sunday, April 14, followed by the live results show on Monday, April 15.
Color key:
Contestants are listed in the order they performed.
+Top 20 (April 14) Contestant Song Result Jack Blocker "You Don't Mess Around with Jim" Safe Mia Matthews "Wildflowers and Wild Horses" Safe Mackenzie Sol "I'll Never Love Again" Wild Card Roman Collins "Never Would Have Made It" Wild Card Kennedy Reid "Love Can Build a Bridge" Wild Card Ajii "Like a Stone" Wild Card Jennifer Jeffries "Grave Digger" Wild Card Emmy Russell "Want You" Safe Triston Harper "H-O-P-E" Safe Odell Bunton Jr. "The Door" Wild Card KAYKO "Over You" Safe Jordan Anthony "When the Party's Over" Wild Card Quintavious "Hollow" Wild Card Kaibrienne "Girl I Am Now" Safe Nya "Georgia on My Mind" Wild Card Jayna Elise "My All" Wild Card Abi Carter "Welcome to the Black Parade" Safe Will Moseley "Makin' Me Look Good Again" Safe McKenna Faith Breinholt "Both Sides, Now" Safe Julia Gagnon "I Believe" Safe
+ Top 20 (April 15)ContestantSongResult Quintavious "Make It Happen" Eliminated McKenna Faith Breinholt "Tumbleweed" Safe Jordan Anthony "Attention" Saved by the judges Jack Blocker "Feeling Whitney" Safe Kennedy Reid "Somethin' Bad" Eliminated Jennifer Jeffries "All I Want" Eliminated Ajii "Call Out My Name" Eliminated Mia Matthews "Burning House" Safe KAYKO "What If?" Safe Nya "Water" Saved by the judges Will Moseley "Gone For Good" Safe Abi Carter "My Mind" Safe Odell Bunton Jr. "Wait on You" Eliminated Kaibrienne "Zombie" Safe Mackenzie Sol "False Alarms" Eliminated Emmy Russell "Skinny" Safe Julia Gagnon "Need a Favor" Safe Jayna Elise "All I Wanted" Saved by the judges Triston Harper "'Til You Can't" Safe Roman Collins "It's a Man's Man's Man's World" Saved by the judges
+ Non-competition performances (April 14) Performer Song Teddy Swims "Lose Control" Paul Russell "Lil Boo Thang" Lauren Spencer-Smith "Fingers Crossed"
Finals Color key:
Top 14 – Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (April 21) Gene Simmons served as a guest mentor for the week. Each contestant performed one song from inductees of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Contestants are listed in the order they performed.
+ Top 14 (April 21) Contestant Song Result Triston Harper "Heartbreak Hotel" Safe Julia Gagnon "Run to You" Safe Roman Collins "You're All I Need to Get By" Safe Kaibrienne "I Hate Myself for Loving You" Safe Jayna Elise "I Have Nothing" Safe Mia Matthews "Those Memories of You" Safe KAYKO "High and Dry" Safe Emmy Russell "I Can't Make You Love Me" Safe Jordan Anthony "I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)" Eliminated McKenna Faith Breinholt "Hard to Say I'm Sorry" Safe Jack Blocker "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right" Safe Nya "I Say a Little Prayer" Eliminated Will Moseley "Night Moves" Safe Abi Carter "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" Safe
+ Non-competition performance Performer Song Luke Bryan "Small Town"
Top 12 – Billboard #1 Hits (April 22) Meghan Trainor served as a guest mentor this week. Each contestant performed a Billboard #1 song. Contestants are listed in the order they performed.
+ Top 12 (April 22) Contestant Song Result Abi Carter "All Too Well" Safe Will Moseley "Starting Over" Safe Jayna Elise "Diamonds" Eliminated Mia Matthews "Over You" Safe Roman Collins "Roar" Eliminated Jack Blocker "Blinding Lights" Safe Emmy Russell "Lose You to Love Me" Safe Triston Harper "Beautiful Crazy" Safe Julia Gagnon "Something in the Orange" Safe Kaibrienne "Wrecking Ball" Safe McKenna Faith Breinholt "Cardigan" Safe KAYKO "Somebody That I Used to Know" Safe
+ Non-competition performance Performer Song David Archuleta "Hell Together"
Top 10 – Contestants' birth year (April 28) Shania Twain served as a guest mentor this week. Each contestant performed a song from the year of their birth. Contestants are listed in the order they performed.
+ Top 10 (April 28) Contestant Song Result Mia Matthews "No One Needs to Know" Eliminated Jack Blocker "Believe" Safe McKenna Faith Breinholt "Iris" Safe KAYKO "Teenage Dirtbag" Eliminated Emmy Russell "All the Small Things" Safe Triston Harper "She's Country" Safe Abi Carter "Clocks" Safe Julia Gagnon "Here I Am" Safe Will Moseley "Modern Day Bonnie and Clyde" Safe Kaibrienne "Here Without You" Safe
+ Non-competition performances Performer Song Just Sam "One Moment in Time" Scotty McCreery "Cab in a Solo"
Top 8 – Judges' Song Contest (April 29) 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.
+ Top 8 (April 29) Contestant Song Selected by Result Will Moseley "Folsom Prison Blues" Lionel Richie Safe Kaibrienne "Traitor" Katy Perry Eliminated McKenna Faith Breinholt "Everywhere I Go" Saved by Katy Perry Jack Blocker "Always on My Mind" Safe Abi Carter "Bring Me to Life" Luke Bryan Safe Julia Gagnon "Over the Rainbow" Safe Triston Harper "Sand in My Boots" Lionel Richie Safe Emmy Russell "Coal Miner's Daughter" Katy Perry Safe
+ Non-competition performances Performers Song Jack Blocker & Emmy Russell "Hello" Triston Harper & Will Moseley "What Makes You Country" Melinda Doolittle, Colton Dixonand Danny Gokey "Shackles (Praise You)" (Tribute to Mandisa) Abi Carter, McKenna Faith Breinholt,Julia Gagnon, and Kaibrienne "Wide Awake"
Top 7 – Dance songs & Adele (May 5) Ciara served as a guest mentor for this week. Each contestant performed two songs: one dance song and one song from Adele's discography. Contestants are listed in the order they performed.
+ Top 7 (May 5) Contestant Order Song Result Jack Blocker 1 "Long Tall Sally" Safe 9 "One and Only" Julia Gagnon 2 "Roam" Eliminated 11 "Set Fire to the Rain" Abi Carter 3 "My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark (Light Em Up)" Safe 14 "Hello" McKenna Faith Breinholt 4 "E.T." Eliminated 8 "Make You Feel My Love" Will Moseley 5 "Gimme Three Steps" Safe 10 "Rolling in the Deep" Emmy Russell 6 "Shut Up and Dance" Safe 12 "Water Under the Bridge" Triston Harper 7 "T-R-O-U-B-L-E" Safe 13 "Easy on Me"
+ Non-competition performance Performer Song Meghan Trainor "To the Moon""Been Like This"
Top 5 – Disney (May 12) Kane Brown served as a guest mentor this week. Each contestant performed two songs from Disney films. Contestants are listed in the order they performed.