Getty The judges at the American Idol finale in 2019.
The grand finale of American Idol season 3 airs tonight, May 17, on ABC at 8 p.m./7 p.m. Central. For those wanting to see another season of hopeful singers, rest assured that the show has been renewed for a fourth season on ABC and a 19th season overall. The Top 5 contestants will be revealed at the start of the show, and voting will open for viewers.
The grand finale will feature performances from Cynthia Erivo, a two-time Oscar nominee who will sing an Aretha Franklin medley. Lauren Daigle will sing her hit “You Say” with the Top 5 contestants and there will be a performance of “Bless the Broken Road” by Rascall Flats and Doug Kiker. The judges will also have performances from their own homes.
The Show Will Return in 2021 With a New Cast of Hopeful Singers, But There Is Still No News on the Judges for Next Season
The show’s renewal was announced just days before the finale. The ABC show has had Luke Bryan, Katy Perry and Lionel Richie on as judges, with host Ryan Seacrest. Although the fourth season of the show has been confirmed, there’s still no word on the return of the judges, and whether any or all of them will return. Perry is pregnant and expecting her baby in late summer, so there are some questions about whether she will be able to return to the show.
On April 7, American Idol posted on Instagram a call for auditions for the next season of the popular show. It indicated that people should submit their auditions from home, and the window to submit an audition is open until October 2020.
There is yet no information on when a fourth season would occur, but the audition notes didn’t make any mention of video or in-person callbacks. It indicated that contestants who are chosen for the next round would find out by November 2020, so a fourth season should be expected in early 2021 — although the format would be hard to predict.
The Show Had a Successful 18th Season Despite Having to Make Changes During the COVID-19 Pandemic
The third season of American Idol on ABC has been successful in terms of viewership over its three-month run. According to GoldDerby, it’s the #1 broadcast series on Sunday for adults 18-49 with an average of 6.844 million viewers. They have also increased their delayed viewing by 23% across linear and digital platforms, even due to all the changes they had to make because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Season 3 of the show, sometimes referred to as season 18 overall, has more than 600 million video views so far and is the #1 social reality TV series of 2020. It’s also the #1 most viewed social program on social media platforms.
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