Ryan Seacrest continued as host, while Harry Connick Jr., Jennifer Lopez, and Keith Urban returned as judges.

On April 7, 2016, Trent Harmon was announced as this season's winner, while La'Porsha Renae was the runner-up.

[4] The American Idol "Audition Bus Tour" visited the following cities: Seattle, Washington; Providence, Rhode Island; Baltimore, Maryland; San Diego, California; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Tucson, Arizona; Indianapolis, Indiana; Santa Fe, New Mexico; Athens, Georgia; Tulsa, Oklahoma; Oxford, Mississippi; and Wilmington, North Carolina.

[5][6] American Idol also partnered with two technology companies to allow people to audition using video recording kiosks and mobile apps in Culver City, California, and Nashville, Tennessee.

[7] Auditions took place in:[5][8] The top 24 semifinalists were split into two groups of twelve, and were filmed at The Vibiana in Los Angeles, California.

Following the judges' selection of four contestants to advance to the Finals,[16] the remaining ten semifinalists competed for the viewers' votes.

Avalon Young, Olivia Rox, and Gianna Isabella were in the Bottom 3 based on America's votes from the previous week's episode.

Avalon Young, Lee Jean, and Sonika Vaid were in the Bottom 3 based on America's votes from the previous week's episode.

Tristan McIntosh and Sonika Vaid were in the Bottom 2 based on America's votes from the previous week's episode.

However, Vaid's performance of "Let It Go" earned the judges' final opportunity to rescue a contestant, and consequently, McIntosh was eliminated midway through the show, prior to singing a second song.

Dalton Rapattoni performed "Strike A Match," but was eliminated based on the previous week's votes.