American Idol Season 19 Premiere: Who Will Audition? See the Photos

American Idol kicks off its 19th season (season 4 on ABC) on Sunday, with judges Luke Bryan, Katy Perry and Lionel Richie. Ryan Seacrest will return to the competition series as host. Not this Sunday, but eventually radio and TV personality Bobby Bones will join the season as in-house mentor.

ABC has released a slew of publicity stills from the auditions. Check out the gallery below. Additionally, we’ve put together a list of hopefuls–some you might remember from other shows or know as social media stars. Make sure to check that out. A handful will be auditioning this Sunday.

American Idol 2021 Contestant Preview: Familiar Faces, Viral Singers.

Watch out for the return of Francisco Martin! The season 18 Top 5 finalist accompanies a hopeful named Kiko. I am assuming they are buddies.

*(ABC/John Fleenor) KIKO, FRANCISCO MARTIN*

Also, a mostly naked dude gives Katy an eyeful. The socks are a nice touch.

Due to the COVID-19 lockdown, the judges saw contestants in Los Angeles, San Diego, and Ojai, California, rather than traveling around the country. The show promises to “surprise audiences and hopefuls alike with never-before-seen twists!” OK THEN!

American Idol Judges “can’t believe what we’re seeing in front of us” Video

UPDATE: American Idol is teasing Claudia Conway’s audition for this Sunday. Her home life is an absolute disaster. So this should be good. Kellyanne and George both make an appearance.

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American Idol will return to airwaves during its season premiere Sunday, Feb. 14 (8:00-10:00 p.m. EST), on ABC. (TV-PG, L)

American Idol 19 Premiere – List of Auditioners

Alex Miller – This country singer has been featured a ton in Idol promos. He and Luke sing a duet together at one point in the audition.
Anilee List – She’s a Berklee student, who also sings in an acapella group. Her backstory? She has Tourette’s syndrome.
Bella Lucareli
Benson Boone – He’s a Tik Tok star with over 500K followers
Christian Terry – Christian covers classic rock, blues and Christian music. His Instagram
Claudia Conway – Daughter of George and Kellyanne “Alternative Facts” Conway
Danica Steakley – This gal
DJ Johnson – DJ plays piano and sings worship songs. In Idol promos, she and the judges are all teary eyed. Expect a big backstory!
Ethan Kuntz and Joshua Hunter – Ethan in front of Harry Connick Jr., Jennifer Lopez, and Keith Urban in Season 15. Now he’s back with his brother Joshua “Kuntz” Hunter.
Grace Kinstler – Idol has been promoting this big voiced singer HEAVILY. She’s in many of the promos singing (You Make Me Feel Like) a Natural Woman,” and the judges recently talked about her during a GMA interview. I bet they leak her audition by the end of the week.
Jason Warrior – He appeared on The Voice season 11 and on the first season of The Four. Actually, he dropped out of Idol to compete on The Four. Now he’s back!
Jessica Smalley – Well. Going by this You Tube video, Jessica may be a joke contestant
Keith Trump – I couldn’t find anything online for this guy. To be honest, not really interested in his backstory.
Kiko – Kiko arrives at his American Idol audition with good friend, Francisco Martin, who finished in the Top 5 last season.
Mario Adrion – He shows up at his audition in a red striped speedo.
Miranda Kitchpanich – She’s a rocker with an electric guitar. She’s a good musician! Check out her Tik Tok
Nia Renée – She’s a 17 year old high school student. Lionel accosts her with one of his silly plastic arms. She’s from Arkansas
Ryan Romano – He’s a lover of classic rock and plays the keytar.
Stelle Amor – This 6 foot tall singer grew up in Louisville KY and calls her genre “soulternative.”