ABC "American Idol" cast members Ryan Seacrest, Katy Perry, Luke Bryan and Lionel Richie.
The monumental season 20 of ABC’s “American Idol” premieres on February 27, 2022, and the first promotional material for the season has officially been released.
The first promotion aired during “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve With Ryan Seacrest 2022” on December 31, 2021, and it features all four of the long-time cast members on the show.
Judges Katy Perry, Luke Bryan, and Lionel Richie will all return to their roles for season 20, and Ryan Seacrest, who is the only original cast member, will also be returning as host.
The Promo Focuses on the Judges and Seacrest
The promotion focuses solely on the judges and Seacrest and does not feature anything from auditions or anything about the contestants. In the promotion video, the judges talk about wanting to discover talent and then ponder what their lives might have been like if they had never been discovered.
“Have you ever wondered where you’d be if you were never discovered?” Seacrest asked the judges.
The video then cuts to Lionel Richie in a sculpting studio, singing “Hello, is this the class you’re looking for?” to a prospective student. Then, Katy Perry is shown singing “Baby, you’re a firework, come on show ’em what you’re worth” while working at a fireworks stand and accidentally setting some fireworks off.
If Luke Bryan were never discovered, according to the promotion, he’d be working as a bartender, where he’s serving “one margarita, two margarita, three margarita” and shots. Ryan Seacrest is shown as an emcee at a Bar Mitzvah during the promotion.
“We were all given our shot. Now it’s time to give it to someone else,” Seacrest says. Then, Perry responds, “Yeah, let’s go discover the next ‘American Idol.'”
Ahead of season 20, “American Idol” also changed some things behind the scenes, bringing in a new showrunner for the first time in over a decade.
According to Deadline, Trish Kinane is retiring from “American Idol,” and Megan Michaels Wolflick, who has been an executive producer on the series, will be taking over.
There was also a rule change ahead of the new season. In previous seasons, any contestants who have previously finished in the top 10 in the competition have not been able to audition again. This time around, the only contestants barred from auditioning again are previous winners of the show.
Bobby Bones Will Not Return in 2022
According to a report by Deadline, in-house mentor Bobby Bones will end his four-season run on the show ahead of the monumental season.
There do not seem to be any burnt bridges between “American Idol” and Bones, however. Deadline reported that the reason Bones left the show is simply because he had a conflict with his other network while “American Idol” was filming.
Bones made the announcement on his Instagram stories, which have since expired, as they go away after 24 hours.
“Some of you noticed I’m not in the ‘Idol’ promos this season,” Bones shared. “My contract [with] my new network won’t let me do another show right now. Love ‘Idol,’ btw. Was a great four years.”
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“American Idol” returns for season 20 on Sunday, February 27, 2022, on ABC.
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