Maddie Poppe won this season on May 21, 2018, while Caleb Lee Hutchinson was the runner-up,[1] and Gabby Barrett finished in third place.

In early 2017, Variety reported that FremantleMedia was in talks to revive the show for either NBC or Fox.

[4] Later, ABC announced that it had acquired the rights to the series and that American Idol would return for the 2017–18 television season.

[11] On February 21, 2018, it was announced that iHeartRadio radio personality Bobby Bones would serve as the mentor for the top 24 this season.

[16] During the live broadcast of the 2017 American Music Awards, three contestants who did not advance after their auditions in front of the judges were given one more chance to convince the audience to vote for them.

[20] The winner of the golden ticket to Hollywood was then revealed the following night on an episode of Dancing with the Stars.

Lionel Richie appeared in the show and announced that the vote was in favor of Britney Holmes, a 28-year-old vocal coach from Texas, who advanced to Hollywood as the first semifinalist of the season.

The Showcase round aired on April 2, which featured the top 50 performing for the judges and a live audience at Exchange LA, a nightclub in Los Angeles.

The artists who performed duets with the top 24 were Banners, Aloe Blacc, Bishop Briggs, Cam, Colbie Caillat, Luis Fonsi, Andy Grammer, Lea Michele, Patrick Monahan, Rachel Platten, Bebe Rexha, Sugarland, and Allen Stone.

[68] The top 7 finalists performed for the summer tour along with eighth season Kris Allen.