Can You Vote on American Idol Tonight? How & When?

American Idol Second Chance Twist

ABC "American Idol" gets closer to crowning a winner as it continues.

Tonight is a new episode of American Idol, and fans may be wondering how they can vote for their favorite contestant.

Voting starts with the East Coast broadcast at 8 p.m. ET and will run until the last commercial break of the show.

You can vote online, with text messages, or through the American Idol app, but you can only vote a total of 30 times– ten votes per voting method.

ABC writes, “For example, if you want to vote for a given contestant – you could submit: up to ten (10) votes for that contestant on ABC.com, up to ten (10) votes for that contestant on the American Idol app and up to ten (10) votes for that contestant via text message, for a total of up to thirty (30) votes for that contestant across all voting methods per voting period.”

To vote online, click here.

The American Idol iOS app can be downloaded here.

And if you’d like to vote through text messages, simply text the contestant’s number to “21523.”

As ABC points out, those voting must be at least 13-years-old and located in the U.S., Puerto Rico, or the Virgin Islands.

Read on for more information:


The Comeback Twist

What exactly is the Idol twist?

This year, the twist will allow 10 of last season’s contestants to perform on the Idol stage, and vie for the chance of becoming part of this year’s top ten.

In an interview with NewsWeek, showrunner Trish Kinane shared of last season’s singers, “They did so well with the remote production… with their mums and dads helping them and their brothers and sisters holding iPhones and ring lights, but they never had the proper Idol experience. Some people really come alive on that big stage. We thought they deserved to have that experience.”

On the April 19 episode, Season 20 contestants will sing on the Idol stage for the first time. And on April 18, voting for those fans want in the top 10 will take place.

There is no show next Sunday due to the Oscars taking place.

Voting closes at 6 p.m. ET on April 26 and the winner will be announced on Sunday, May 2.


Paula Abdul Steps In

Last week, OG Idol judge Paula Abdul subbed in for Luke Bryan after he announced that he had been diagnosed with COVID.

Abdul was a judge on the show from 2002 to 2009. Idol wrote on the official Instagram page, “Luke will be missed at our first #AmericanIdol LIVE show tonight, but he is resting now in quarantine at home and we’re wishing him a speedy recovery… We’re so excited to announce @paulaabdul will be stepping in as a guest judge to join Lionel Richie and Katy Perry as we get closer to crowning a new winner!”

Bryan subsequently wrote on Twitter, “I tested positive for COVID… But I’m doing well and look forward to being back at it soon.”

American Idol will air Sunday and Monday at 8pm ET/5pm PT.

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