When Does American Idol 2020 Start? Full Season 18 Schedule (Updated 4/12)

American Idol 2020 Cast Schedule

Check out the FULL American Idol 2020/season 18 schedule below.   The competition returns to ABC on Sunday February 16, featuring judges Lionel Richie, Katy Perry and Luke Bryan, in addition to host Ryan Seacrest and mentor Bobby Bones

American Idol 2020 begins two weeks earlier than last season, However, there is actually fewer episodes. Season 17 aired six weeks of Monday episodes and a special Wednesday edition. In 2019, ABC aired 19 episodes. In 2020 the network scheduled 18.

American Idol 2020 Spoilers – Top 20 Contestant List
American Idol 2020 Spoilers: Top 40 Showcase Round Contestant List, Song Choices
American Idol 2020 Hollywood Spoilers: Season 18 Top 70 Contestant List

This year, the Academy scheduled the Oscars for its earliest broadcast ever, Feb. 9, which is why American Idol is premiering earlier than usual. In other words, ABC wasn’t looking to make the season longer. In fact, the Oscars will air on Feb 28 and Feb 27 in 2021 and 2022 respectively, which is the more typical Academy Awards schedule. If American Idol continues to air on Sundays, it’ll move back to that more familiar start date.  

Bookmark this page. I’ll be updating the schedule as ABC releases episode information. 

UPDATE 3/21: American Idol halted production, and will likely end with the Final judgement episode. Hawaii Showcase and Final Judgement, originally scheduled as a three hour episode, will now be split to air on Sunday March 29 and Monday March 30. 

UPDATE: 3/27: With only two more pre-taped episodes left in the can, ABC is shuffling American Idol’s schedule. Remaining Monday shows are cancelled. The Hawaii showcase will air over two Sundays. Clip shows featuring the Top will air on the following two Sundays. 

American Idol 2020 – Season 19 Schedule

Sunday Feb 16 – Auditions 1 (8-10 ET/PT)

Sunday Feb 23 – Auditions 2 (8-10 ET/PT)

Sunday Mar 1 – Auditions 3 (8-10 ET/PT)

Sunday Mar 8 – Auditions 4 (8-10 ET/PT)

Sunday Mar 15 – Auditions 5 (8-10 ET/PT)  
Monday Mar 16 – Hollywood Week, Genre Challenge (8-10 ET/PT)

Sunday Mar 22 – Hollywood Week DUETS (8-10 ET/PT)
Monday Mar 23 – Hollywood Week SOLOS (8-10 ET/PT)

Sunday Mar 29 – Hawaii Showcase and Final Judgement Hawaii Showcase/Final Judgement (8-10 ET/PT) ( (8-10 ET/PT)
Monday Mar 30 – CANCELED

Sunday Apr 5 – Semi-Finals (8-10 ET/PT)  Hawaii Showcase/Final Judgement (8-10 ET/PT)
Monday Apr 6 – Semi-Finals (8-10 ET/PT) CANCELED

Sunday Apr 12 – Finals Live Coast to Coast – Top 10 Performances & Results (8-10 ET/PT) “This is Me” special featuring the Top 20 (8-10 ET/PT)

Sunday Apr 19 – Finals Live Coast to Coast – Top 8 Performances & Results (8-10 ET/PT) “This is Me” special featuring the Top 20 (8-10 ET/PT)

Sunday Apr 26 – Finals Live Coast to Coast – Top 6 Performances & Results (8-10 ET/PT) “Top 20 Sing for America”

Sunday May 3 – Finals Live Coast to Coast – Top 5 Performances & Results (8-10 ET/PT) “Live Coast to Coast Feed”

Sunday May 10 – Finals Live Coast to Coast – Top 4 Performances & Results (8-10 ET/PT) “Live Coast to Coast Feed”

Sunday May 17 – Finals Live Coast to Coast – Top 3 Performances & Results (8-10 ET/PT) Finale

 

About mj santilli 34858 Articles
Founder and editor of mjsbigblog.com, home of the awesomest fan community on the net. I love cheesy singing shows of all kinds, whether reality or scripted. I adore American Idol, but also love The Voice, Glee, X Factor and more!