ABC/Karen Neal Hawaii Showcase concludes the Final Judgment round at Aulani, A Disney Resort & Spa in Ko Olina, Hawai'i.
Season 18 of American Idol is in full swing going into the previously recorded Showcase Round episodes. Going into the week, there are 40 contestants, but they will be cut down to the top 20 by the end of the round.
Because so many of the episodes were pre-taped, all performances up to the Top 20 have been filmed and will air. After that, though, the performances will be live, so they can not be filmed in advance. Those episodes will take place at a later date, as ABC has postponed production due to the global coronavirus pandemic.
American Idol features judges Katy Perry, Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan who decide which of the contestants make it this far in the competition. The cast also includes long-time Idol host Ryan Seacrest and in-house mentor Bobby Bones.
WARNING: Spoilers for the TOP 20 of American Idol Season 18 follow. Read at your own risk.
American Idol Season 18 Top 20 Contestants
In no particular order, here are the contestants who make it through to the Top 20 of American Idol Season 18:
Aliana Jester
Dewayne Crocker, Jr.
Cyniah Elise
Arthur Gunn
Faith Becnal
Dillon James
Grace Leer
Franklin Boone
Julia Gargano
Jonny West
Kimmy Gabriela
Jovin Webb
Louis Knight
Lauren Mascitti
Nick Merico
Lauren Spencer Smith
Makayla Phillips
Olivia Ximines
Sam Diaz “Just Sam”
Sophia Wackerman
When the American Idol season is able to be picked back up, the judges will no longer be the ones in charge of who makes it further in the competition. The performances will still be taped in front of the judges, who can make comments, but the actual results will be decided by viewers who will be able to vote on who they’d like to move forward.
Who Is Sent Home After the Showcase Round?
Twenty contestants will be sent home after the Showcase Round of the competition. After their performances, the judges sit down for a 3-on-1 discussion of what went right, what went wrong and whether or not the contestant will be moving forward in the Idol competition.
Here’s who gets sent home after their Showcase performances:
Amber Fiedler
Amelia Joyce
DemiRae “Demi” Moreno
Emma Valentine
Geena Fontanella
Genavieve Linkowski
Grace Lundy
Makayla Brownlee
Natalie Jane
Perrin York
Shannon Gibbons
Bilaal Avaz
Cameron Havens
Devon Alexander
Elyjuh René
Francisco Martin
Franklin Boone
Jeb VonderBruegge
Rob Taylor
These contestants will not be continuing on the show, but many of them will still go on to try to launch a career in the music industry. Most of the time, the judges will tell them to continue following their dreams or even suggest that they come back the following year.
The American Idol live shows have been postponed for the time being, so there will be two episodes in a series called American Idol: This is Me that will look more closely at the top 20 contestants in the season. They’ll show footage that has not yet been seen by viewers and talk about each contestant’s journey so far. Those episodes air on Sunday, April 12 and Sunday, April 15.
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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