The twenty-first season of American Idol premiered on February 19, 2023, on the ABC television network.^[1][2] Ryan Seacrest returned as host; Luke Bryan, Katy Perry, and Lionel Richie returned as judges.^[3]

Iam Tongi won the season on May 21, 2023, while Megan Danielle was the runner-up, and Colin Stough finished in third place.

The Idol Across America virtual auditions program returned from the previous two seasons. Remote auditions took place from August 3 to September 14, 2022, as well as a number of open-call auditions, and from these, the producers selected the contestants who were then invited to audition in front of the judges.^[4]

The "platinum ticket" also returned from last season. During the audition round, a total of three platinum tickets were awarded, and they gave the recipients the opportunity to advance directly to the second round of Hollywood week as well as choose their partners for that week's duet challenge before the remaining contestants were paired. During the American Music Awards, three contestants advancing to Hollywood week also were given the opportunity to win a fourth platinum ticket. The platinum ticket recipients were Cam Amen, Kaylin Hedges, Elijah McCormick, and Tyson Venegas.^[5][6][7][8]

Hollywood week was filmed December 4–7, 2022, at the Los Angeles Theatre in Los Angeles. There were some changes to the format this season. Instead of having the contestants choose a specific genre, the contestants instead had to choose one area of performance to work on: confidence, songwriting, and stage presence.^[9] Contestants were again mentored by American Idol alumni: Clay Aiken and David Archuleta (confidence), Phillip Phillips and Catie Turner (songwriting), and Justin Guarini and Jordin Sparks (stage presence). Those who impressed the judges and the producers were advanced to the next round.^[10] The contestants were paired up by the judges and performed duets. They were given twelve hours to rehearse, which included consultation with a vocal coach, a stage rehearsal, and advice from one of the judges. Judges could advance either, neither, or both of the contestants to the Showstopper round.^[11]

The Showstopper round featured the top 55 contestants performing for the judges and a live audience at the Los Angeles Theatre. This round was aired on April 9 and April 10, but only 35 contestants were aired. The judges then narrowed the number of contestants down to 26. The following is a list of the contestants who reached the top 26 and the song they performed. Contestants are listed in the order they performed.

The top 26 contestants were split into two groups of thirteen and performed one solo each at the Aulani resort in Kapolei, Hawaii. The first group aired on April 16, and the second group on April 17. Allen Stone served as a guest mentor for the first group, and Noah Cyrus for the second group. Three contestants from each group were eliminated based on the public vote, and the rest advanced to the top 20. Contestants are listed in the order they performed.

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The top 20 performances aired on Sunday, April 23, followed by the live results show on Monday, April 24.

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Contestants are listed in the order they performed.

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