American Idol Season 20 viewers have watched over the last few weeks as the top 24 get whittled down in Hawaii—and the more contestants who are eliminated, the closer we get to the live shows.
ABC viewers have already seen one contestant leave this season. Kenedi Anderson announced she was withdrawing from the season, citing "personal reasons."
The other 23 contestants, meanwhile, are waiting to find out which of them will make the top 20—and then who will make it to the live performances.
When Are the American Idol Live Shows Set To Start?
Here's what's coming up in the next few weeks on American Idol:
On Sunday, April 17, the results of the public vote for the top 20 will be revealed, with the contestants returning to Hollywood from Hawaii to get the news. On this taped episode, all 20 contestants will perform in front of judges Katy Perry, Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan, before the public gets to vote again for who makes the top 14.
Then, we will get the first live show the following day, Monday, April 18. ABC is listing that episode as the "Top 14 Live Reveal," in which, "America's votes will determine which 10 Idol hopefuls will continue on in their musical journey, capping off a night of unforgettable performances." The other four contestants that will make up the top 14 will be chosen by the judges.
After that, ABC has not released a synopsis for the Sunday, April 24 "Top 14" episode, meaning we cannot be sure whether that will also be a live episode.
What we do know, however, is that after that point, the show will definitely be live as we move into the top 11 and beyond. The Monday, April 25 episode, for example, is confirmed to be a new live episode called "Judge's Song Contest," in which the judges "will pick songs for each of the Top 11 to perform. Without knowing which judge offered the suggestion, each contestant will select their favorite song to perform, revealing the winning judge."
The following Sunday (May 1), we get an American Idol staple—Disney Night, in which the remaining contestants will be raiding the Mouse House catalog once again.
ABC has not confirmed the line-up after Disney Night, but we are expecting a live show featuring the top seven on May 8, a top four on May 15, and then the finale on May 22, when the final three fight it out live to follow Chayce Beckham to be the latest winner of American Idol.
American Idol Season 20 airs Sundays and Mondays at 8 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. CT on ABC. Previous episodes are streaming now on Hulu.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
