The twentieth season of American Idol premiered on February 27, 2022, on the ABC television network.

[4] Noah Thompson won the season on May 22, 2022, while HunterGirl was the runner-up, and Leah Marlene finished in third place.

[5] American Idol introduced the "platinum ticket" during the audition round in celebration of the show's twentieth season.

A total of three platinum tickets were awarded, and they gave the recipients the opportunity to advance directly to the second round of Hollywood week as well as choose their partners for that week's duet challenge before the remaining contestants were paired.

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).

This season, contestants were mentored by American Idol alumni: Lauren Alaina (country), David Cook (rock), Lee DeWyze (indie folk), Haley Reinhart (soul), Jordin Sparks (pop), and Ruben Studdard (R&B).

The Showstopper round featured the top 59 contestants performing for the judges and a live audience at the Orpheum Theatre.

The top 24 contestants were split into two groups of twelve and performed one solo each at the Aulani resort in Kapolei, Hawaii.

Color key: Gabby Barrett served as a guest mentor this week.