Luke Bryan, Lionel Richie and Carrie Underwood are returning to host “American Idol” when the series returns in 2026. The trio first came together last year after Underwood, who won the series the 2005, replaced Katy Perry.
This upcoming season will be the 24th overall season of “American Idol” as well as the show’s ninth season on ABC and Hulu.
Auditions for Season 9 will start on Tuesday with the First 900 VIP event. That will then lead into “Idol Across America,” which starts with participants from Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi and searches for talented singers across all 50 states and Washington D.C. Participants will be able to perform in front of an “American Idol” producer across any official audition date. Only a lucky few from those open auditions will be selected to move onto the next stage.
Auditions will run through Sept. 24, which will mark the second nationwide open call (the first will happen on Sept. 3). There will also be an East Coast open call on Sept. 12, a South open call on Sept. 15 and an open call for the West and Midwest on Sept. 18. Dates are subject to change. Learn more about the “American Idol” audition process here.
“American Idol” has ranked as a top unscripted series for all eight seasons its been on ABC. Last season’s finale secured the No. 1 ratings for that night, No. 1 for that week in primetime and best total viewer audience the series had seen in two years. On social media, the series also saw over 1.65 billion video views this year alone.
The singing competition series is produced by Fremantle and 19 Entertainment, which is a part of Sony Pictures Television. Megan Wolflick serves as the series’ executive producer and showrunner with Eli Holzman and Aaron Saidman serving as executive producers for 19 Entertainment. Fremantle distributes the series worldwide.
