'American Idol' Season 18: How the show broke away from its classic format for first time in almost 20 years
This latest season of 'American Idol', it's third on the ABC network and 18th season overall, has had a quite an unprecedented number of firsts. The show has had such a celebrated, time-honored classic format that even the slightest change or modification to its regular scheduled programming seems to have fans and social media in a frenzy. Of late, the show has entered some unprecedented new waters, including some never-before-seen 'Idol' firsts.
To start with, this season featured a crop of contestants that were markedly better than the previous seasons. It's almost like the show had to regain some momentum after its much-publicized reboot on the ABC network before it could appeal to aspiring stars once again. But this current season is arguably chock-full of talented contenders.
From frontrunners like Makayla Phillips, Arthur Gunn, Cyniah Elise, Lauren Spencer-Smith, Jonny West, Just Sam and Jovin Webb, the show has a wide range of diverse talent across multiple genres. This current batch of singer-songwriters including Franklin Boone, Julia Gargano, Dillon James, Francisco Martin, Grace Leer and Louis Knight even came prepared with original songs in their arsenal of vocal showpieces. But the pressure of the competition is as acute and palpable as ever. One of the contestants, Makayla Brownlee, suffered a fainting spell on stage in a jaw-dropping first for the show during Hollywood Week, and showed just how intense this contest can be even if you are accustomed to the bright lights and people scrutinizing you.
Due to the incredible range of talent on display, judges Katy Perry, Luke Bryan and Lionel Richie were hard-pressed to determine who the eventual Top 20 lineup was going to be. So in another incredible first for the show, the jury decided in Aulani, Hawaii, to throw the final elimination spot, contested by country songstresses Grace Leer and Lauren Mascitti, open for the American public to decide. Sunday night's episode on April 19 revealed that the talented Grace Leer had received more votes, and would move to the Top 20 voting phase of the competition.
Due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, there were doubts about airing of the regularly scheduled live episodes of the show last month. The contestants had been sent home to wait out the quarantine period with their families while the producers scrambled to fill up their primetime TV slots with two weeks' worth of recap highlights, a closer look at some fan favorites and some previously unaired footage from the previously-taped rounds.
These special 'This Is Me' episodes, however, have been discontinued indefinitely. So in another unprecedented first for the show, the 'American Idol' producers decided to go ahead with their live voting rounds from next Sunday, April 26. However, it was recently revealed that this coming week will be a special remote-access home edition, also previously unheard of in the show's two-decade-long history.
Next week's Top 20 round plans to feature 25 different locations, as contestants sing for the public's votes from their individual homes and the three judges, show mentor Bobby Bones and longtime host Ryan Seacrest will also make appearances via live video feeds.
It's a brave new world for both the singing competition and the American voters, but the anticipation and novelty factor is certain to amp up expectations for what these upcoming episodes might contain. There's still plenty of scope for technical glitches and unforeseen scenarios. So we will just have to wait and see what will unfold.
Make sure you tune in next Sunday night, April 26, at 8 pm ET on the ABC network to catch the Top 20 voting rounds. We can't wait to see what's next for the popular show as it bravely goes where no singers have gone before.