‘American Idol’ Season 24 Recap: Catch Up on the Competition Before the Top 7 Take the Stage

On Monday, April 20, American Idol confirmed which Season 24 contestants made it to the Top 7 to take on the songs of superstar Taylor Swift, and who’d be going home just a few weeks before the finale.

So, before the playing field narrows down any further, we wanted to make sure you were all caught up on what you might’ve missed! Just in case you needed a super-quick refresh, here’s what’s been going down on the hit ABC singing competition this time around.

American Idol Season 24: what’s happened so far?

Kicking off back in late January, Ryan Seacrest returned as the host, with the judging panel comprising Lionel Richie, Luke Bryan and Carrie Underwood. The show began with its first round of auditions; however, rather than traveling around the country in search of the next big name in music as they had in past seasons, all auditions were held in Nashville at Belmont University.

Also, the traditional “Hollywood Week” was not held in Hollywood, with the program instead inviting the contestants who advanced back to Tennessee. During the subsequent rounds, the roster of talented singers was cut from over 100 contestants to the Top 30.

The Top 30 were then tasked with competing in the “Ohana Round,” which saw the hopefuls traveling to Hawaii to sing for their spot in the competition. Following their performances, the group was once again whittled down by 10, giving viewers their final Top 20 contestants.

What have the weekly themes been?

After losing four more contestants in a split week, the Top 16 entered the themed performance rounds. The first theme was “Songs of Faith,” where two singers were sent home. Then, the following week, the show held a “90s Judges’ Song Contest,” where only one contestant was eliminated. After that, they hosted a star-studded “Rock & Roll Hall of Fame” week, with Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo on hand as mentors to the remaining contestants, with two more hopefuls eliminated before the episode’s credits rolled.

That brings us to this past Monday, April 20, where the Top 9 joined mentor Jennifer Hudson to tackle songs from Disney movies. Fan-favorite tunes from beloved animated classics like Aladdin, The Princess and the Frog and Coco were performed. At the end of the evening, Seacrest announced the Top 7 and let those contestants know they’d be entering their Taylor Swift era for the next episode, with Swift superfan Nikki Glaser slated to appear as a guest judge.

Who’s in the Top 7?

After an intense battle, this week’s episode saw the Top 9 lose two more singers to solidify the Top 7 going into the next episode. The remaining contestants are:

When is the next episode of American Idol?

The next episode of American Idol will air on ABC this Monday, April 27, at 8 p.m. ET, and we’ll be back here to recap everything live for you!

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