ABC/Karen Neal Hawaii Showcase concludes the Final Judgment round at Aulani, A Disney Resort & Spa in Ko Olina, Hawai'i.
ABC’s singing competition reality show American Idol returns tonight with the first episode of the Showcase round, which took place in Hawaii this season. The episode airs tonight at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC and is two-hours long.
According to the episode synopsis for tonight, the top 40 contestants will leave the infamous Hollywood Week in the past and move on to more solo performances. The synopsis reads, “The top 40 contestants take to the beach and perform solo in front of a live audience in Ko Olina, Hawaii. The judges sit down with each contestant to reveal their fate.”
The episode is part one of a two-part Showcase round with judges Luke Bryan, Katy Perry and Lionel Richie. The competition is hosted by Ryan Seacrest and contestants are mentored by Bobby Bones.
The Showcase Round episodes were recorded in front of an audience and the judges back in January 2020. The words “Previously Recorded” will appear on the screen throughout the episode.
Read on to learn more about tonight’s episode of American Idol.
Who Is Performing on Episode 9?
Tonight will feature a dozen performances from contestants who have made it through to the top 40 of Season 18 of Idol. It will likely also reveal which of these contestants make it through to the Top 20 contestants and the Idol live episodes.
DeWayne Crocker Jr.
Dillon James
Francisco Martin
Jonny West
Faith Becnel
Louis Knight
Camryn Leigh Smith
Nick Merico
Just Sam
Amber Fiedler
Makayla Brownlee
Jovin Webb
This group consists of many contestants who have been referred to as “stars” or “front-runners” in advance of the Top 40 competition. Both Louis Knight and Francisco Martin have been told they could win the competition, and Amber Fiedler and Just Sam have both defied the odds to be performing on the stage in the first place.
Two performances have been released early on Idol’s YouTube channel. Camryn Lee Smith performed “Break Every Chain” by Tasha Cobbs Leonard, leading Katy Perry to comment about Smith’s “cool voice.” Richie, on the other hand, said that he didn’t connect with her performance. Dillon James’ performance has also been released prior to the episode airing.
‘American Idol’ Season 18 Schedule
Due to the global coronavirus pandemic, American Idol has had to shift when the live shows for the season will begin to air. Originally, those shows would have started next Sunday, April 5 and continued on Monday, April 6.
Now, that is not the case for Idol. The show will not air new episodes on Monday nights for the foreseeable future, and the rest of production has been slowed down as well. Now, the Showcase Round episodes will air on Sunday, March 29 and Sunday, April 5.
After the Showcase Round is aired and the Top 20 contestants have been revealed, on Sunday April 12 and Sunday April 15, the show will air American Idol: This is Me specials which focus on the lives of the Top 20 contestants and show off some of the unseen footage and highlights from their journeys so far.
ABC production has no solid plan with how to go forward from that point on since developments happen on a daily basis.
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