By Michaela Gordoni
AMERICAN IDOL Season 23 just kicked off on Jan. 26, but with the Winter Olympics right around the corner, will its scheduling be disrupted?
ABC is moving forward with some of its programming during the Olympics, which started on Friday, and AMERICAN IDOL is included in that, TV Insider reported.
The third episode of AMERICAN IDOL Season 24 will air on Monday, Feb. 9, at 8/7c. It airs on Hulu the next day. It isn’t confirmed yet, but it’s likely that episode 4 will air on Feb. 16.
Episode 2 re-aired on Feb. 8, for those who missed it the first time. This season received the highest premiere ratings it’s had since 2022.
Whoever made it through the audition rounds will move on to the Hollywood rounds. From there, the top 30 will move to the Ohana round in Hawaii. Then it’s back to California.
Some Golden Ticket to Hollywood winners from the auditions thus far are 24-year-old Makiyah from Arkansas and 25-year-old Missouri stay-at-home mom Hannah Harper.
Related: AMERICAN IDOL Showrunner Talks ‘Big’ Changes for Season 24
“I sing around town, and I also grew up singing in church,” Makiyah shared in her audition. “I sing in church every Sunday with my family.”
She impressed the judges with Jennifer Hudson’s “Love You I Do.”
“You didn’t miss a note,” judge Carrie Underwood told her. “So good, so strong, and in control of everything. Easily the strongest we’ve heard so far. You are meant to be here right now.”
Judge Lionel Richie said, “We pray for the standout. We pray for the one who’s going to put the pressure on everybody else — who’s going to lead the class. It’s you.”
Harper’s original song about postpartum depression brought Underwood to tears.
“You might be my favorite person that’s walked through those doors in the past three days,” Underwood told Harper. “You’re gorgeous. Like, you look famous already.”
“I just think you have a beautiful simplicity to your voice. You’re one that I’m going to think about when we leave here, like, ‘I wonder what song she’s gonna sing next.’”
The judges also saw a previous contestant, Julián Kalel. He auditioned for Season 23, but his audition didn’t air. He got a Golden Ticket but dropped out of the competition before he could use it.
“There were concerns about my abilities to balance a journey like AMERICAN IDOL and my mental health,” said the 19-year-old, who has anxiety and depression. After working with mental health professionals, he knew he’d regret it if he didn’t try the show again.
He sang his moving original, “Lone Guitar.”
Underwood said, “Everything about you is honest. You organize your thoughts and feelings into song in a way that comes across so real. That is something that’s needed very much.”
The next broadcast is a two-hour-long audition round on Feb. 9.
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