American Idol season 21 voting will begin sooner than fans think.
In a clip posted to social media, Idol host Ryan Seacrest reveals that American Idol will offer a “first look” at “three of the new season’s top talent.” And then fans will decide who “wins America’s platinum ticket and goes straight to the second round of Hollywood Week.” Ryan ends the clip reminding fans to “watch the AMAs for your chance to vote.” The American Music Awards air on ABC Sunday November 20 at 8 pm. American Idol season 21 premieres on the same network Sunday February 19.
View this post on Instagram
American Idol 21 Auditioners ID’d in the new clip
In the clip, Blake Busch ID’d a few of the contestants:
- Front and center of shot with a lot of contestants cheering is Samuel Harness (The Voice S21) in green
- Possibly Jeverson – in tan color shirt
- Makayla Gaylord (red jacket)
- Presley Tennant The Voice season 16 (in pink)
- Matt Wilson (Bucket Hat)
- Haven Madison (teal and purple)
- Elijah McCormick (blue sweater)
- Jezzie Asia (red)
- Tori Green (black blouse)
- Lucy Love (excited)
- Ashley Tankard (hugging Katy Perry)
American Idol introduced the Platinum Ticket to celebrate the show’s 20th anniversary
American Idol introduced the “Platinum Ticket” last season to celebrate the iconic show’s 20th anniversary season. The judges–Lionel Richie, Katy Perry and Luke Bryan–picked a contestant in each city to receive the special ticket, which allowed them to skip the first round of Hollywood Week. Eventual runner-up HunterGirl, Kenedi Anderson, who dropped out after the Top 24 and Top 10 contestant Jay were the Platinum Ticket winners in Nashville, Los Angeles and Austin, respectively.
American Music Awards Nominees include Carrie Underwood, Harry Styles
Now, for season 21, American Idol is allowing fans to choose ONE platinum ticket winner who will also skip to round two (probably duets!) in Hollywood.
The show has kickstarted voting on Award shows before
The question is, will American Idol display it’s best talent on the AMA’s stage Sunday night? The show has used awards shows and special events in the past to kick start voting. But in those cases, fans voted on talent to send to Hollywood. Typically, the winners didn’t advance far in the competition.
For instance, American Idol’s first season on ABC, the show presented three singers who didn’t make it past the judges during the 2017 American Music Awards. Fans voted on a singer to send to Hollywood. The winner, Britney Holmes, was revealed the following night on Dancing with the Stars. The judges eventually cut the singer was from the Top 50 in the Showcase round.
The following season, three contestants who didn’t enter the competition and didn’t audition initially were given the chance to audition on the CMA Awards. The next day, Good Morning America revealed the winner Meghan Woods. Unsurprisingly, that was the last fans saw of the singer.
Last season, a Platinum Ticket holder was considered “the best of the best.” It stands to reason that unlike past Award show stunts, American Idol will present America with a glimpse at some of the show’s best talent, right? Also, Ryan did NOT mention when results of America’s first vote will be revealed.
