'American Idol' Season 19: Release date, judges, host, mentor and all you need to know about ABC singing reality show
'American Idol' has completed almost two decades on television. There are always these little moments sprinkled over the episodes each season that spark joy and laughter among audiences, mostly families that band together to watch it. A new season of this long-standing series is gearing up for premiere soon. Here's what you need to know about it.
Release date
Season 19 of 'American Idol' will start airing on Valentine's Day 2021. Starting February 14, a new episode of the singing reality competition series will air every Sunday between 8 and 10 pm ET. This will mark the fourth season of 'American Idol' on ABC that acquired rights to the series in May 2017. Prior to that, it used to air on FOX and the final episode on the network aired on April 7, 2016.
Plot
Adapted from the original format from the United Kingdom's 'Pop Idol', a brainchild of TV personality Simon Fuller, 'American Idol' too follows the same premise. Judges scour the country in search of the most talented singers starting age 15 and upward who then compete for the winning title and a recording contract. There's a number of tone-deaf artists thrown into the mix during the audition rounds that even though used as filler, make up for a huge chunk of entertainment.
Judges
The legendary trio of Katy Perry, Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan were the judges of the past three seasons of 'American Idol' that aired on ABC. The network confirmed in November 2020 that they'll be bringing them back yet again for the fourth time to judge Season 19.
Host
Ryan Seacrest has hosted 'American Idol' since its inception. For the first season, comedian and actor Brian Dunkleman had appeared as a co-host with Seacrest, the rest of the seasons were singlehandedly presented by the radio and TV personality who will also be returning for Season 19.
Mentor
Over the years, there's been a number of mentors who've come to advise the contestants and help them add a new layer to their performances. Adam Lambert, Carrie Underwood, Dolly Parton, Peter Noone and Nick Jonas are a few names that have shown up to help the budding superstars. Bobby Bones has been an in-house mentor of the series for a couple of seasons now and ABC confirmed his return again for Season 19.
Creators
'American Idol' is produced by Fremantle and Industrial Media’s 19 Entertainment. Executive producers include Fremantle’s Trish Kinane, also serving as showrunner, Jennifer Mullin and Megan Wolflick, with Eli Holzman and Aaron Saidman serving as executive producers for 19 Entertainment.
Trailer
There's no trailer yet for Season 19. Bookmark this page and return in a few days for fresher updates.
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