The nineteenth season of American Idol premiered on February 14, 2021, on the ABC television network.

[1][2] Chayce Beckham won the season on May 23, 2021, while Willie Spence was the runner-up, and Grace Kinstler finished in third place.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, American Idol offered live virtual auditions to aspiring contestants through its Idol Across America program using custom-built Zoom technology to mirror the way the audition was done in previous season but in a home environment.

[6] Hollywood week was filmed December 7–10, 2020, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.

In the first round, each contestant chose and performed a song from a selection of musical genres (indie folk, pop, rock, R&B, soul, or country).

The Showstopper round featured the top 64 contestants performing for the judges at the Dolby Theatre.

Four contestants from each group were eliminated based on the public vote, and the rest advanced to the top 16.

The artists who performed duets with the top 24 were Jason Aldean, Jimmie Allen, Brandon Boyd, Jewel, Josh Groban, Tori Kelly, Brian McKnight, Katharine McPhee, PJ Morton, Ben Rector, Joss Stone, and Ryan Tedder.

[15] Paula Abdul served as a guest judge on April 12 after Luke Bryan tested positive for COVID-19.