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The age range to audition for American Idol is between 15 and 28 years old.
American Idol premieres Sunday, February 16, 2020 at 8 p.m. Eastern on ABC. While auditions for this season already took place throughout the summer and early fall of 2019, anyone in the U.S. could try out for the show as long as hopeful contestants met the age criteria.
The announcement about the return of American Idol this season was made a few days before the 2019 American Idol finale, . ABC made the announcement in a video in December that included the same judges as last season.
Since American Idol’s 2002 premiere, stars have been discovered all over the country and the winners of each season have gone on to achieve commercial success. This season, American Idol fans are in for more performances and can vote again to help make the next star.
Here’s everything we know about ‘American Idol’ 2020:
Auditions Were Held In 20 Cities Throughout the U.S.
American Idol 2020 auditions already took place throughout the summer and early fall of 2019 in more than 20 U.S. cities. Hopeful contestants could audition in-person or online (now closed) as long as they were between 15 and 28 years old. Artists born before 1990 are no longer eligible to audition. The youngest contestants were born the same year that Carrie Underwood won American Idol.
“The great thing about American Idol is we actually go out to cities and find the next superstar. A lot of the shows you have to go to Hollywood to actually audition. I think the great thing about us, we come out to places. We think there’s a lot of talent and obviously, we keep coming back here, so there’s something to it,” Heavy previously reported Bobby Bones said in an interview with WJCL.
Auditions were held in the following cities:
New York, NY – July 23
Mobile, AL – August 20
Macon, GA – August 23
Tallahassee, FL – August 23
Santa Barbara, CA – August 23
Baton Rouge, LA – August 25
Columbia, SC – August 26
Las Vegas, NV – August 26
Waco, TX – August 27
Knoxville, TN – August 29
Salt Lake City, UT – August 29
Colorado Springs, CO – September 1
Raleigh, NC – September 1
Washington, D.C. – September 4
Wichita, KS – September 4
San Jose, CA – September 6
Pittsburgh, PA – September 7
Springfield, IL – September 7
Spokane, WA – September 8
Detroit, MI – September 10
The American Idol Cast Returns This Season
Once again, judges include Katy Perry, Luke Bryan and Lionel Richie, along with mentor Bobby Bones. Last May, Variety reported that Katy Perry, Luke Bryan and Lionel Richie had not yet signed contracts with ABC, but ultimately they all came back to the show for the new season.
“We are delighted to have our judges Katy, Luke and Lionel as well as in-house mentor Bobby back on American Idol,” executive producer and showrunner Trish Kinane said in a statement. “They are all credible, hugely successful artists and will bring their expertise, passion, and energy to the search for America’s next superstar.”
Variety reported, ABC and series producer FreemantleMedia North America were hoping to reduce the program’s costs by signing new talent to the judges panel (Katy Perry’s annual Idol salary is reported to be $25 million).
Last September, Ryan Seacrest renewed his contract to come back to the show, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Seacrest has been the host since the show’s 2002 beginning.
Contestants from prior seasons are returning including, Layla Spring (season 16), Logan Johnson (season 17) and Shawn Robinson (season 17). Each of their auditions aired during the American Music Awards so viewers could vote for the contestant they wanted to see in season 18. On the season 28 live finale of Dancing With the Stars Lionel Richie announced that Layla Spring was the viewers’ favorite.
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