ABC 'American Idol' auditions for season 19
American Idol is returning for its 19th season on Sunday, February 14 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC.
If you don’t have cable, here are some different ways you can watch American Idol online for free:
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FuboTV
You can watch a live stream of ABC (live in select markets) and 100-plus other TV channels on FuboTV, which comes with a seven-day free trial:
Once signed up for FuboTV, you can watch American Idol live on the FuboTV app, which is available on your Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Firestick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Xbox One, Samsung Smart TV, Android TV, iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet. You can also watch on your computer via the FuboTV website.
If you can’t watch live, FuboTV comes with 250 hours of cloud DVR space, as well as a 72-hour look-back feature, which allows you to watch most shows on-demand within three days (and sometimes longer) of their conclusion, even if you don’t record them.
AT&T TV
You can watch a live stream of ABC (live in most markets) and 65-plus other TV channels via AT&T TV. ABC is included in every channel bundle, but the “Choice” and above packages come included with HBO Max and NBA League Pass at no cost, and you can try out any package for free with a 14-day trial:
Once signed up for AT&T TV, you can watch American Idol live on the AT&T TV app, which is available on your Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Firestick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Samsung Smart TV, iPhone, Android phone, iPad, or Android tablet. Or you can watch on your computer via the AT&T TV website.
If you can’t watch live, AT&T TV also comes with 20 hours of Cloud DVR storage (with the ability to upgrade to 500 hours).
Vidgo
You can watch a live stream of ABC (live in select markets) and 65+ other TV channels on Vidgo, which you can try with a free seven-day trial:
Once signed up for Vidgo, you can watch American Idol live on the Vidgo app, which is available on your Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV, or Firestick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Android TV, iPhone, Android phone, iPad, or Android tablet. Or you can watch on your computer via the Vidgo website.
Hulu With Live TV
You can watch a live stream of ABC (live in select markets) and 65+ other TV channels via Hulu With Live TV, which you can try out for free with a seven-day trial:
Once signed up for Hulu With Live TV, you can watch American Idol live on the Hulu app, which is available on your Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV, or Firestick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Xbox One, Xbox 360, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Samsung Smart TV, LG Smart TV, Android TV, iPhone, Android phone, iPad, or Android tablet. Or you can watch on your computer via the Hulu website.
If you can’t watch live, Hulu with Live TV comes with both its extensive on-demand library (which includes most shows after they air) and 50 hours of Cloud DVR storage (with the ability to upgrade to “Enhanced Cloud DVR,” which gives you 200 hours of DVR space and the ability to fast forward through commercials).
‘American Idol’ Season 19 Preview
Ryan Seacrest and American Idol are back for their 19th season, the fourth on ABC, alongside judges Katy Perry, Lionel Richie, and Luke Bryan, and returning in-house mentor Bobby Bones.
Ahead of the premiere, Bones told Parade that he loves working on American Idol because he thinks the show really focuses on the artists.
Working with Idol is great because this is really the one singing competition show that is about the artist. And so, even from season one on ABC, it was, “Hey, let’s see what I can lend to the contestants.” Because I didn’t really know yet; I hadn’t been on the show yet. Then to not only watch them grow and to see that I could help them with a lot of things, like what songs to sing or how to impress the judges, and then once I won Dancing With the Stars, I could actually talk to them about competing on a show, because I’d been through that as well.
But the great thing was when I was back and working in Nashville, watching the artists slowly start to grow out of American Idol. I don’t mean growing up in a bad way, but grow outside of it, like Gabby Barrett or Laine Hardy, and I’m still working with them today.
So what keeps me going back is the fact that I get to keep developing these guys even after the show is over. I took a couple contestants from the last season on tour with me as well, to open and to play in my band. So it’s been pretty great for me so far as the continued mentorship.
He also said that his biggest piece of advice for contestants is to lean into their nervousness, telling Parade that he tells them “it’s OK to be nervous. If they’re nervous, to not fight that.”
“So many of them haven’t performed on a stage at all … the best advice that I give them is [the nerves] not going to go away until you get on that stage another 100 or so times, and then they’re just going to change. So if you eliminate that time where you’re trying to get rid of the nerves and focus on something else, you’re actually at a bit of an advantage over other folks,” said Bones, adding, “Once we get to the top five or six, I can really help on song choice. And there’s even a week when they make me pick all of the songs. Then if the contestants do bad, it’s my fault. But early on, with these new performers, it’s mostly nerves.”
American Idol airs Sundays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC.