The twenty-fourth season of American Idol premiered on January 26, 2026, on ABC. Ryan Seacrest returned as host; Luke Bryan, Lionel Richie, and Carrie Underwood returned as judges.
Hannah Harper won the season on May 11, 2026, while Jordan McCullough was the runner-up, and Keyla Richardson finished in third place.
Auditions Remote auditions were held from August 26 to October 6, 2025, as well as a number of open-call auditions. From these auditions, producers of the show selected the contestants who would be invited to audition in front of the judges. Unlike previous seasons, where auditions were hosted in various cities, in-person auditions were only held at one site, Belmont University in Nashville. +American Idol (season 24) – auditions City Filming date(s) Filming venue Nashville November 3, 2025 Belmont University
Hollywood Week For the first time, Hollywood Week was not held in or near Hollywood (despite retaining its name). Instead, it was held in Nashville and was dubbed the "Music City Takeover". A total of 127 contestants advanced to this stage of the competition. Each contestant performed a song of their own choice. After a select number of performances, several contestants at a time were called to the stage, and the judges sent some to the adjacent "Golden Room" which was a holding room for those who could advance, while the rest were eliminated. After all contestants performed, 60 were sent to the Golden Room while the judges made their final decisions, and the rest were eliminated.
Of those in the Golden Room, 28 of them were chosen as part of the Top 30, while another 28 were eliminated. The last four contestants performed two sing-offs of which one in each advanced, and the other was eliminated. The contestants who made it to the top 30 were: Makiyah, Jordan McCullough, Lucas Leon, Bella Emry, Madison Moon, Keyla Richardson, Braden Rumfelt, Chris Tungseth, Jake Thistle, Tianna Roberts, Philmon Lee, Brooks Rosser, Daniel Stallworth, Kutter Bradley, Bryant Thomas, Jesse Findling, Julián Kalel, Sheldon Riley, Brianna Yancey, Kiera Howell, Kyndal Inskeep, Hannah Harper, Ruby Rae, Jacquie Lee, Brenna Brigman, Rae, Genevieve Heyward, Abayomi, Michael Garner, and Chloe Lauren.https://ca.news.yahoo.com/american-idol-reveals-top-30-032356385.html
'Ohana Round The top 30 from Hollywood Week advanced to the next round known as the 'Ohana Round, which occurred at Disney's Aulani resort in Kapolei, Hawaii. Three performers were awarded Platinum Tickets by the contestants, the contestants' friends and family, and a panel of musicians and other industry figures respectively.
After the 'Ohana Round, the Top 20 was selected; of the contestants in the Top 20, the three that received a platinum ticket were Jordan McCullough (voted by fellow contestants), Brooks (voted by friends and family), and Kyndal Inskeep (voted by musicians and industry figures).
+Top 20 qualifiers Contestant Song Jordan McCullough "Grandma's Hands" Lucas Leon "The House That Built Me" Keyla Richardson "A Thousand Years" Braden Rumfelt "If I Ain't Got You" Hannah Harper "Go Rest High on That Mountain" Genevieve Heyward "Your Song" Abayomi "Rise Up" Ruby Rae "Till Forever Falls Apart" Rae "I'll Be There" Jake Thistle "Sleep on Me" (original song) Brooks "Everywhere, Everything" Madison Moon "Faithfully" Daniel Stallworth "The Climb" Chris Tungseth "Iris" Jesse Findling "Photograph" Julián Kalel "Surrender" (original song) Kutter Bradley "Amarillo Sky" Kyndal Inskeep "Woman of Me" (original song) Philmon Lee "All I Want" Makiyah "Stand Up"
Top 20 (March 16 and 23) The top 20 contestants were split into two groups of ten and performed a song each at Aulani. The first group's performances aired on March 16, while the second group aired on March 23. Brad Paisley and Keke Palmer both served as guest mentors during the round. Contestants are listed in the order they performed. The songs performed by the Top 20 and onwards were published on all music streaming platforms.
Color key:
+ Group 1 (March 16)ContestantSongResult Makiyah "Bang Bang" Eliminated Jake Thistle "The Power of Love" Safe Genevieve Hayward "Pink Pony Club" Eliminated Daniel Stallworth "All Night Long" Safe Kyndal Inskeep "Call Your Mom" Safe Kutter Bradley "It's Not Over" Eliminated Jesse Findling "You Found Me" Safe Hannah Harper "Ain't No Grave" Safe Braden Rumfelt "Love On The Brain" Safe Brooks "Dancing On My Own" Safe+ Group 2 (March 23)ContestantSongResult Philmon Lee "Don't Stop Believin'" Safe Rae "Respect" Safe Lucas Leon "Just to See You Smile" Safe Jordan McCullough "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" Safe Abayomi "Mamma Knows Best" Eliminated Madison Moon "Since U Been Gone" Eliminated Chris Tungseth "Apologize" Safe Ruby Rae "Drag Me Down" Eliminated Julián Kalel "Tourniquet" Safe Keyla Richardson "With A Little Help From My Friends" Safe
+ Non-competition performances (March 16) Performer Song Iam Tongi "Good for My Soul" Iam Tongi & Thunderstorm Artis "Island Style"
+ Non-competition performance (March 23) Performer Song Skip Marley "One Love/People Get Ready"
Finals Color key:
Top 14 – Songs of Faith (March 30) Each contestant performed a song from the Songs of Faith songbook. No contestants were eliminated on March 30, as the social media votes were not totaled by the end of the broadcast. The eliminations were announced during the April 6 broadcast.
+ Top 14 (March 30) Contestant Song Result Keyla Richardson "Jireh" Safe Jesse Findling "Bless The Broken Road" Safe Lucas Leon "Gratitude" Safe Daniel Stallworth "Brighter Days" Safe Philmon Lee "Simple Man" Safe Rae "Up To The Mountain" Safe Jake Thistle "Have A Little Faith In Me" Eliminated Braden Rumfelt "Hard Fought Hallelujah" Safe Julián Kalel "Fix You" Eliminated Kyndal Inskeep "Nothing But The Blood Of Jesus" Safe Jordan McCullough "I Can Only Imagine" Safe Brooks "Imagine" Safe Hannah Harper "At The Cross" Safe Chris Tungseth "By Your Grace" Safe
+ Non-competition performances Performer Song Luke Bryan, Lionel Richie & The Top 20 "Jesus Is Love" Carrie Underwood, Canaan James Hill, Kolbi Jordan & Filo "How Great Thou Art"
Top 12 – 90s Judges' Song Contest (April 6) Contestants were given three songs, each selected by the judges, to choose from. After each performance, contestants guessed who chose their song. The theme for the round was "90s" and every song choice was from the 1990s. Lionel Richie had the most song choices selected by the contestants, and was able to save one contestant from elimination.
This was the first live episode of the season, but due to the change from Sunday nights to Monday nights, this - and all other episodes for the rest of the season - were shown live only in the Eastern and Central time zones, with a delayed broadcast in points west, on ABC affiliates. In contrast, the Disney+ simulcast stream (which began the previous week) was still live in all time zones.
+ Top 12 (April 6) Contestant Song Selected by Result Hannah Harper "Heads Carolina, Tails California" Carrie Underwood Safe Jordan McCullough "Always Be My Baby" Lionel Richie Safe Daniel Stallworth "It Ain't Over Til' It's Over" Luke Bryan Safe Lucas Leon "It's Your Love" Lionel Richie Safe Chris Tungseth "I'll Be" Carrie Underwood Safe Philmon Lee "Hard to Handle" Luke Bryan Safe Kyndal Inskeep "Iris" Lionel Richie Safe Brooks "Linger" Safe Rae "Love Will Lead You Back" Carrie Underwood Saved by Lionel Braden Rumfelt "All By Myself" Lionel Richie Safe Jesse Findling "Wonderwall" Eliminated Keyla Richardson "Zombie" Safe
Top 11 – Rock & Roll Hall of Fame (April 13) Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo served as a guest mentors this week. Each contestant performed one song from inductees of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
+ Top 11 (April 13) Contestant Song Result Chris Tungseth "Cold as Ice" Safe Rae "MacArthur Park" Eliminated Braden Rumfelt "Superstition" Safe Brooks "These Days" Safe Daniel Stallworth "Livin' on a Prayer" Safe Keyla Richardson "Signed, Sealed, Delivered, I'm Yours" Safe Lucas Leon "Bennie and the Jets" Safe Kyndal Inskeep "Piece of My Heart" Safe Philmon Lee "Hot Blooded" Eliminated Hannah Harper "Landslide" Safe Jordan McCollough "Somebody To Love" Safe
+ Non-competition performances Performer Song Carrie Underwood & Billy Idol "Rebel Yell"Pat Benatar & Neil Giraldo "Heartbreaker""Ring of Fire"
Top 9 – Disney Night (April 20) Jennifer Hudson served as a guest mentor and guest judge this week. Each contestant performed one song from a Disney film. The Top 9 went to Disneyland before the episode. Contestants are listed in the order they performed. + Top 9 (April 20) Contestant Song Disney film Result Daniel Stallworth "A Whole New World" Aladdin Safe Braden Rumfelt "Remember Me" Coco Safe Lucas Leon "Life Is a Highway" Cars Eliminated Hannah Harper "Almost There" The Princess and the Frog Safe Chris Tungseth "Let It Go" Frozen Safe Keyla Richardson "Circle of Life" The Lion King Safe Brooks "The Climb" Hannah Montana: The Movie Safe Jordan McCollough "Colors of the Wind" Pocahontas Safe Kyndal Inskeep "Butterfly Fly Away" Hannah Montana: The Movie Eliminated
+ Non-competition performances Performer(s) Song Top 9 "You've Got a Friend in Me" The cast of Descendants: Wicked Wonderland (Malia Baker, Liamani Segura, Kiara Romero, Brendon Tremblay and Alexandro Byrd) "Perfect Princess"
Top 7 – Taylor Swift / California Songs Night (April 27) Nikki Glaser served as a guest judge this week. Each contestant performed one song from the songbook of Taylor Swift and another by artists from California. Contestants are listed in the order they performed. + Top 7 (April 27) Contestant Order Song Result Jordan McCullough 1 "Tim McGraw" Safe 9 "I Can't Make You Love Me" Chris Tungseth 2 "Exile" Safe 12 "What Was I Made For?" Hannah Harper 3 "Mean" Safe 13 "That's the Way Love Goes" Brooks 4 "Love Story" Eliminated 8 "She Will Be Loved" Daniel Stallworth 5 "Fearless" Eliminated 10 "Best Part" Keyla Richardson 6 "Lover" Safe 14 "I'd Rather Go Blind" Braden Rumfelt 7 "Cardigan" Safe 11 "This Love"
+ Non-competition performance Performer Song Luke Bryan "Country and She Knows It"
Top 5 – Class of 2006 Reunion / American Idol X Dancing with the Stars (May 4) Paula Abdul served as a guest judge this week, while Randy Jackson served as a guest mentor. In celebration of the twentieth anniversary of the fifth season of American Idol, each contestant performed a duet with a contestant from that season. They also performed with a professional dancer from Dancing with the Stars in a first-time crossover. Jan Ravnik, Gleb Savchenko, Rylee Arnold, and Witney Carson made appearances this week.
+ Top 5 (May 4) Contestant Order Song Result Keyla Richardson 1 "River Deep – Mountain High" Safe 6 "Living for the City" (with Taylor Hicks) Chris Tungseth 2 "Northern Attitude" Eliminated 7 "The Thunder Rolls" (with Bucky Covington) Braden Rumfelt 3 "Lose Control" Eliminated 8 "The Show Must Go On" (with Paris Bennett) Hannah Harper 4 "Fever" Safe 9 "A Broken Wing" (with Kellie Pickler) Jordan McCullough 5 "Footprints in the Sand" Safe 10 "A Song for You" (with Elliott Yamin)
+ Non-competition performance Performer Song Jamal Roberts "Perfect for Me"
Top 3 – Finale (May 11) Alicia Keys served as the guest mentor and performer for the finale. The first round of songs was a tribute to Alicia Keys, based on the songs of her own discography. The second round of songs were selected by the contestants as a tribute to their hometowns. After Richardson was eliminated in third place, the remaining two reprised their audition songs, after which Harper was announced as the winner.