Season 20

**Season 20** of *American Idol* premiered on ABC on Sunday February 27th, 2022 and ended on May 22, 2022. It is the show's fifth season to air on ABC.

Ryan Seacrest return as host, Lionel Richie, Katy Perry and Luke Bryan return as judge.

This will be the first season since Season 16 to not involve Bobby Bones.

This season was won by Noah Thompson.

### Audition Cities

The following cities held auditions for Season 20, date of the auditions are also shown.

* **Austin, Texas** - *0ctober 4-7, 2021*
* **Los Angeles, California** - *October 17-20, 2021*
* **Nashville, Tennessee** - *November 11-15, 2021*

## Hollywood Week

Hollywood Week was filmed from December 6-9 2021, at the Orpheum Theatre in Los Angeles, California. The Genre and Duet Challenges from the last seasons return. In the Genre Challenge, contestants chose groups based on a specific genre and were mentored by a former Idol alum: Season 10 runner-up Lauren Alaina (Country), Season 2 winner Ruben Studdard (R&B), Season 9 winner Lee DeWyze (Indie Folk), Season 10 finalist Haley Reinhart (Soul), Season 7 winner David Cook (Rock), and Season 6 winner Jordin Sparks (Pop). After all the contestants in the respective groups performed, the judges brought them to the stage and made their decisions. The ones who have made it advanced to the Duet Challenge. The platinum ticket recipients picked their duet partners, while the judges chose for the remaining contestants. The duets were given twelve hours to rehearse, including a session with a vocal coach, a stage rehearsal and advice from one of the judges. The remaining contestants who have passed the Duet Challenge advanced to the Showstopper Round.

## Showstopper/Final Judgment

The Showstopper & Final Judgement aired on April 4, 2022. It featured the Top 59 contestants. Each contestants performed, and at the end 24 contestants were chosen to move on to the Live shows.

### Top 24

After the Final Judgement, 24 contestants were chosen to move on to the semifinals.

**Males:**

* Cameron Whitcomb
* Christian Guardino
* Dan Marshall Griffith
* Fritz Hager
* Jacob Moran
* Jay Copeland
* Mike Parker
* Noah Thompson
* Sir Blayke
* Tristen Gressett

**Females:**

* Allegra Miles
* Ava Maybee
* Cadence Baker
* Danielle Finn
* Elli Rowe
* Emyrson Flora
* Huntergirl
* Katyrah Love
* Kenedi Anderson (Withdrew)
* Lady K
* Leah Marlene
* Nicolina
* Sage
* Scarlet

### Top 14

The following contestants advanced to the **Top 14:**

**Males:**

* Christian Guardino
* Dan Marshall Griffith
* Fritz Hager
* Jay Copeland
* Mike Parker
* Noah Thompson
* Tristen Gressett

**Females:**

* Allegra Miles
* Ava Maybee
* Emyrson Flora
* Huntergirl
* Lady K
* Leah Marlene
* Nicolina

## Top 10: Disney Night/The Great Idol Reunion

### Top 10

The following contestants advanced to the **Top 10:**

* Christian Guardino
* Emyrson Flora
* Fritz Hager
* Huntergirl
* Jay Copeland
* Lady K
* Leah Marlene
* Mike Parker
* Nicolina
* Noah Thompson

## Top 7

### Top 7

The following contestants advanced to the **Top 7:**

* Christian Guardino
* Fritz Hager
* Huntergirl
* Jay Copeland
* Leah Marlene
* Nicolina
* Noah Thompson

## Top 5

### Top 5

The following contestants advanced to the **Top 5:**

* Fritz Hager
* Huntergirl
* Leah Marlene
* Nicolina
* Noah Thompson

## Finale

### Top 3

The following contestants advanced to the **Top 3:**

* Noah Thompson
* Huntergirl
* Leah Marlene