American Idol season 24

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.^[4] Eschewing the tour from past seasons, auditions were only held at one site—Belmont University in Nashville.^[5][6]

For the first time, Hollywood Week was not held in or near Hollywood. Instead, it was held in Nashville and was dubbed the "Music City Takeover".^[6] 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 deliberations, 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 30 contestants that that made it through Hollywood Week are: 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.^[7]

The top 30 from Hollywood Week advanced to a new round known as the 'Ohana Round, which took place 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.^[6]

After the 'Ohana Round, the Top 20 was selected; of the contestants in the Top 20, the three that received a platinum ticket are Jordan McCullough, Brooks, and Kyndal Inskeep.

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.

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An official American Idol podcast, hosted by Danielle Fishel, launched on April 1, 2026.^[9]

Starting this season, the American Idol app, which was used for voting in recent seasons, was discontinued, and voting for this season occurs on the show's website and socal media accounts as well as via text messages.^[6]

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