(ABC/Gavin Bond) ABC’s “American Idol” host Ryan Seacrest with judges Lionel Richie, Katy Perry and Luke Bryan, and in-house mentor Bobby Bones.
American Idol Hollywood Week begins to air tonight, March 16, 2020. The episode, which is the sixth episode of Season 18 airs at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC and is two hours long.
Tonight’s episode kicks off Hollywood Week with the “Genre Challenge.” According to the episode synopsis, each contestant will select a specific genre they identify with and perform a song of their choice in front of the judges and other Idol contestants.
“With unexpected surprises no one saw coming, fan favorites from auditions return to sing for their lives in hopes of making it through to the next never-before-seen challenge,” the synopsis reads.
Read on to learn more about tonight’s episode of Idol.
Who is Performing in the Genre Challenge?
The two-night #AmericanIdol event continues tonight at 8|7c with a brand new Hollywood Week! t.co/bUxeOous65
Though all contestants do perform during the genre challenge, around 23 performances will be all the network has the time to air for the round. After the round, many contestants will be sent home by the judges. By the end of Hollywood Week, there will only be 40 contestants remaining.
Here are all the contestants performing on tonight’s episode in no particular order:
Kimmy Gabriela
Lauren Mascitti
Lauren Spencer
Makayla Phillips
Julia Gargano
Sophia Wackerman
Genavieve Linkowski
Louis Knight
Shannon Gibbons
Bilaal Avas
Francisco Martin
Jovin Webb
Cyniah Elise
Marna Michele
Arthur Gunn
Nick Merico
Jonny West
Margie Mays
Hannah Prestige
Just Sam
Kay Genyse
Dillon James
Doug Kiker
Many standouts from the audition rounds are seen on the above list. Lauren Mascitti, Makayla Phillips, Louis Knight, Francisco Martin, Jonny West and Doug Kiker all received a ton of praise from the judges at the time of their auditions.
‘American Idol’ 2020 Hollywood Week Twists and Changes
Before Season 18 of American Idol even began, there were hints and clues that the format of Hollywood week would be changed up at least a little bit. In the promo clips for the new episode, however, Perry is heard saying everything has changed.
Don’t fear, though. They will definitely still feature all the drama, catfights, meltdowns and disappointing performances that viewers have come to expect out of Hollywood Week.
So, this year, instead of running the usual “lines of 10” like they have in previous seasons, contestants will now be able to showcase their favorite music styles. They’ll get to choose a genre, and then they’ll perform a song in that genre of their choosing.
On the Sunday, March 22 episode of Idol, contestants will pair up to perform duets. Usually, this round is dedicated to group performances, but the entire format has been switched up for 2020. The Idol contestants will pair up with an opponent, select a song, create an arrangement and then perform it. They get to choose who they want to work with and what song they want to sing.
The third round of Hollywood Week will air on Monday, March 23, and it will operate the same as it has previously. The round will showcase contestants in solo performances, and they’ll have the opportunity to perform with a whole band behind them, giving viewers the opportunity to see how well the contestants do under that light.
Tune in to American Idol Sunday and Monday nights at 8 p.m. on ABC to see the hopefuls perform.
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