American Idol (season 13)

American Idol
Season 13
Hosted byRyan Seacrest
JudgesHarry Connick Jr.
Jennifer Lopez
Keith Urban
WinnerCaleb Johnson
Runner-upJena Irene
Finals venueNokia Theatre L.A. Live
Release
Original networkFox
Original releaseJanuary 15 (2014-01-15) –
May 21, 2014 (2014-05-21)
Season chronology
← Previous
Season 12
Next →
Season 14
List of episodes

The thirteenth season of American Idol, styled as American Idol XIII, premiered on the Fox television network on January 15, 2014. Ryan Seacrest returned as host for his thirteenth season. Keith Urban was the only judge from the twelfth season to return. Former judge Jennifer Lopez, who returned after a one-season absence, and Harry Connick Jr. both joined the judging panel following the departures of Mariah Carey, Randy Jackson, and Nicki Minaj, although Jackson remained as a mentor, replacing Jimmy Iovine.

On May 21, Caleb Johnson was announced the winner, with Jena Irene as the runner-up.

Changes from previous seasons

There were a number of major changes this season. On May 9, 2013, Randy Jackson announced that he would no longer serve as a judge. On May 30, 2013, Mariah Carey and Nicki Minaj both also announced they would not return to the judging panel. On August 1, 2013, it was confirmed that Keith Urban would return as a judge for another season. Executive producers Nigel Lythgoe and Ken Warwick were succeeded by Per Blankens, previously of Idol, the Swedish version of American Idol. On June 25, 2013, it was confirmed that producers Jesse Ignjatovic and Evan Prager would join Blankens as executive producers of the show. Bill DeRonde replaced Warwick as the director of the audition episodes and Louis J. Horvitz also replaced Gregg Gelfand as a director of the live show. Fox television executive Mike Darnell, who helped launch American Idol in 2002, left as programming head of Fox, and Fox Sports executive David Hill was hired to oversee the series. Rickey Minor returned to the show as musical director after having left at the end of the ninth season.

In August 2013, it was reported that Jennifer Lopez would be returning as an American Idol judge. On August 22, 2013, it was reported that Jimmy Iovine would not return as the in-house mentor this season, and that he would be replaced by Randy Jackson. On August 30, 2013, The Hollywood Reporter wrote that Harry Connick Jr. had signed a deal to join the judges panel and that Simon Fuller had held a party the night before with all three judges to toast the forthcoming announcement. On September 3, 2013, Lopez and Connick Jr. were officially announced as judges for this season. It was also later reported that alumni Adam Lambert and Chris Daughtry would assist in mentoring the contestants.

In a rules change from past seasons, semifinalists from the twelfth season who had not made it into the top 10 would be eligible to audition again, provided they met all of the other requirements. This season, the viewers were also able to vote for their favorite contestants via Google Search. American Idol teamed up with Facebook to present "on-air visualizations" showing real-time East Coast voting developments, including live "demographic voting trends and relative contestant rankings." Voting could also start as soon as the performance shows began this season, and real time vote rankings were shown while the show is still in progress. Additionally, each contestant was assigned the same telephone number for the entire competition.

Regional auditions

Auditions took place in the following cities:

American Idol (season 13) – regional auditions
City Preliminary date Preliminary venue Filming date(s) Filming venue Golden tickets
Salt Lake City, Utah July 11, 2013 EnergySolutions Arena October 2–3, 2013 Marriott Hotel at City Creek 30
San Francisco, California July 16, 2013 AT&T Park October 21–22, 2013 Westin St. Francis 19
Detroit, Michigan July 21, 2013 Ford Field October 8–9, 2013 Book-Cadillac Hotel 40
Atlanta, Georgia July 26, 2013 Gwinnett Center October 29–30, 2013 W Atlanta Midtown 44
Boston, Massachusetts August 2, 2013 Gillette Stadium September 3–4, 2013 Boston Marriott Copley Place 25
Austin, Texas August 7, 2013 Frank Erwin Center September 25–26, 2013 Austin Convention Center 35
Omaha, Nebraska August 11, 2013 CenturyLink Center October 13–14, 2013 CenturyLink Center Omaha 21
Total number of tickets to Hollywood 212

In addition, special audition bus tours were held in Little Rock, Arkansas; Oxford, Mississippi; Tuscaloosa, Alabama; Knoxville, Tennessee; and Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Those chosen proceeded on to Salt Lake City to audition in front of the judges.

One audition this season was Tristen Langley, son of first season's third-placed finalist Nikki McKibbin, who made history as the first of the second-generation contestants on American Idol.

Hollywood week

A new "Hollywood or Home" round was introduced this season where contestants could be eliminated soon after they had landed at LAX airport. 52 contestants performed solo in an airplane hangar, and of those, 32 were immediately sent back home. The 160 contestants left then proceeded to Hollywood and performed solo at the Dolby Theatre in groups of ten. After this round, 104 contestants remained and they performed in groups of three or four. 77 contestants went through to a solo round.

The Hollywood rounds ended with a top 30 being announced on February 12 and 13, 2014. However, a new twist was added where the judges only choose 15 female contestants and 14 male contestants, with the 15th man to be chosen by the public. The options were either Ben Briley or Neco Starr. The result was revealed at the end of the females' semifinals episode, and Briley was the selection.

Semifinals

The semifinals began on February 18. The three-day event was marketed as "Rush Week". In another twist, the judges were required to announce which ten out of the fifteen per each gender would be eligible to sing for votes, thereby eliminating five men and five women without permitting them to perform. Then, the top five men and the top five women, along with three assorted Wild Card contestants selected by the judges, advanced to the finals.

Color key:

 This contestant was chosen by the public and moved on to the live shows.
 This contestant was not chosen by the public and was left to perform again for the judges in the Wild Card round.
 This contestant was eliminated.

Contestants are listed in the order they performed.

Female contestants (February 18)
Contestant Song Result
Majesty Rose "Happy" Advanced
Kristen O'Connor "Turning Tables" Wild Card
Briana Oakley "Warrior" Eliminated
Jena Irene "Paint It Black" Wild Card
Bria Anai "Wrong Side of a Love Song" Wild Card
Marrialle Sellars "Roar" Eliminated
Jessica Meuse "Drink a Beer" Advanced
Emily Piriz "Paris (Ooh La La)" Advanced
MK Nobilette "All of Me" Advanced
Malaya Watson "Hard Times (No One Knows Better Than I)" Advanced
Male contestants (February 19)
Contestant Song Result
Caleb Johnson "Stay with Me" Advanced
C. J. Harris "Shelter" Wild Card
Emmanuel Zidor "Best of My Love" Eliminated
Sam Woolf "Babylon" Advanced
George Lovett "Grenade" Eliminated
Dexter Roberts "This Ole Boy" Advanced
Alex Preston "Volcano" Advanced
Malcolm Allen "Comin' from Where I'm From" Eliminated
Ben Briley "Soulshine" Advanced
Spencer Lloyd "Love Don't Die" Wild Card
Eliminated without performing
Females Andrina Brogden Kenzie Hall Jillian Jensen Brandy Neelly Austin Wolfe
Males Jordan Brisbane Ethan Harris Briston Maroney Casey Thrasher Maurice Townsend

Wild Card round

Following the ten finalists who advanced to the finals on Thursday, February 20, five of the remaining ten semifinalists were selected by the judges to compete in the Wild Card round, which began immediately afterward. Following another performance by each Wild Card contestant, the judges then selected three contestants to join the final group of 13.

Contestants are listed in the order they performed.

Contestant Song Result
C. J. Harris "Bring It On Home to Me" Advanced
Jena Irene "Unbreakable Me" Advanced
Spencer Lloyd "Ordinary Girl" Eliminated
Bria Anai "It's a Man's Man's Man's World" Eliminated
Kristen O'Connor "Unconditionally" Advanced

Top 13 finalists

Finals

There were thirteen weeks of finals with thirteen contestants competing. At least one contestant was eliminated every week based on the public's votes, although the judges could veto one elimination through the use of the "judges' save."

Color key:

 This contestant was saved by America's vote.
 This contestant was in the bottom two or three, but was saved by America's vote.
 This contestant was saved from elimination by the judges.
 This contestant was eliminated.
 This contestant won American Idol.
 This contestant was the runner-up.

Top 13 – This Is Me

Contestants are listed in the order they performed.

Contestant Song Result
Dexter Roberts "Aw Naw" Safe
Malaya Watson "Runaway Baby" Bottom three
Kristen O'Connor "Beautiful Disaster" Eliminated
Ben Briley "Folsom Prison Blues" Safe
C.J. Harris "Radio" Safe
MK Nobilette "Satisfaction" Bottom three
Majesty Rose "Tightrope" Safe
Jena Irene "The Scientist" Safe
Alex Preston "A Beautiful Mess" Safe
Jessica Meuse "The Crow & the Butterfly" Safe
Emily Piriz "Glitter in the Air" Safe
Sam Woolf "Unwell" Safe
Caleb Johnson "Pressure & Time" Safe
Non-competition performance
Performers Song
Top 13 "Counting Stars"
"Radioactive"
Candice Glover "Cried"
"Same Kinda Man"
Jake Bugg "Me and You"

Top 12 – Home

Contestants are listed in the order they performed.

Contestant Song Result
Jena Irene "Suddenly I See" Bottom three
Alex Preston "I Don't Want to Be" Safe
Jessica Meuse "White Flag" Safe
Dexter Roberts "Lucky Man" Safe
Emily Piriz "Let's Get Loud" Eliminated
Caleb Johnson "Working Man" Safe
MK Nobilette "Drops of Jupiter (Tell Me)" Bottom three
C.J. Harris "Waiting on the World to Change" Safe
Sam Woolf "Just One" Safe
Malaya Watson "Take Me to the King" Safe
Ben Briley "Turning Home" Safe
Majesty Rose "Fix You" Safe
Non-competition performance
Performers Song
Phillip Phillips "Raging Fire"
Kodaline "All I Want"

Top 11 – Movie soundtracks

Contestants chose songs featured in movies, and are listed in the order they performed.

Contestant Song Film Result
Sam Woolf "Come Together" Across the Universe Bottom three
Jessica Meuse "The Sound of Silence" The Graduate Safe
C.J. Harris "Can't You See" Blow Safe
Dexter Roberts "Sweet Home Alabama" Forrest Gump Safe
Ben Briley "Bennie and the Jets" 27 Dresses Eliminated
Majesty Rose "Let It Go" Frozen Bottom three
Caleb Johnson "Skyfall" Skyfall Safe
MK Nobilette "Make You Feel My Love" Hope Floats Safe
Alex Preston "Falling Slowly" Once Safe
Jena Irene "Decode" Twilight Safe
Malaya Watson "I Am Changing" Dreamgirls Safe
Non-competition performance
Performers Song
Harry Connick, Jr. "One Fine Thing"
"Come by Me"
Mali Music "Beautiful"

Top 10 – Billboard top 10

Contestants each performed one song from the Billboard top 10 lists from 2011 to 2014. Contestants are listed in the order they performed.

Contestant Song Result
MK Nobilette "Fuckin' Perfect" Eliminated
Dexter Roberts "Cruise" Bottom three
Jena Irene "Clarity" Safe
Alex Preston "Story of My Life" Safe
Malaya Watson "When I Was Your Man" Safe
Caleb Johnson "The Edge of Glory" Safe
C.J. Harris "Invisible" Safe
Jessica Meuse "Pumped Up Kicks" Safe
Majesty Rose "Wake Me Up" Bottom three
Sam Woolf "We Are Young" Safe
Non-competition performance
Performers Song
Jennifer Lopez
with Allison Iraheta, French Montana,
Jessica Sanchez & Pia Toscano
"I Luh Ya Papi"
Royal Teeth "Wild"

Top 9 – "I'm with the band!"

Each contestant performed as the lead singer of the show's band, performing one song each of their choice.

Contestant Song Result
Alex Preston "Don't Speak" Safe
Majesty Rose "Shake It Out" Eliminated
Dexter Roberts "Boondocks" Safe
Malaya Watson "The Long and Winding Road" Safe
Sam Woolf "Hey There Delilah" Bottom three
Jessica Meuse "Rhiannon" Safe
C.J. Harris "If It Hadn't Been for Love" Bottom three
Caleb Johnson "Dazed and Confused" Safe
Jena Irene "Bring Me to Life" Safe
Non-competition performance
Performers Song
Top 9 "Clocks"
"(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction"
"My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark (Light Em Up)"
Janelle Monáe "What is Love?"

Top 8 (April 3) – Back to the start

Contestants performed two songs each: one solo, which was the song that they had originally performed when they first auditioned, and one duet with a fellow contestant. Contestants are listed in the order they performed. The judges chose to use their "judges' save" when Sam Woolf was announced as the performer to be eliminated. As a result, no one was eliminated this week.

Contestant Order Audition song Result
Jessica Meuse 1 "Blue-Eyed Lie" Safe
C.J. Harris 2 "Soulshine" Bottom three
Sam Woolf 4 "Lego House" Saved by the judges
Malaya Watson 6 "Ain't No Way" Bottom three
Dexter Roberts 7 "One Mississippi" Safe
Jena Irene 9 "Rolling in the Deep" Safe
Caleb Johnson 11 "Chain of Fools" Safe
Alex Preston 12 "Fairytales" Safe
Jena Irene &
Alex Preston
3 "Just Give Me a Reason"
Caleb Johnson
& Jessica Meuse
5 "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around"
Malaya Watson
& Sam Woolf
8 "Lucky"
C.J. Harris &
Dexter Roberts
10 "Alright"
Non-competition performance
Performers Song
Daughtry "Waiting for Superman"

Top 8 (April 10) – Music from the 1980s

David Cook served as a guest mentor this week. Contestants performed two songs each: one solo and one duet with a fellow contestant. Contestants are listed in the order they performed.

Contestant Order Song Result
Jena Irene 1 "I Love Rock 'n' Roll" Safe
Dexter Roberts 2 "Keep Your Hands to Yourself" Safe
Malaya Watson 4 "Through the Fire" Eliminated
Jessica Meuse 6 "Call Me" Safe
Sam Woolf 7 "Time After Time" Safe
Alex Preston 9 "Every Breath You Take" Safe
C.J. Harris 11 "Free Fallin'" Bottom two
Caleb Johnson 12 "Faithfully" Safe
Alex Preston
& Sam Woolf
3 "The Girl Is Mine"
Jena Irene &
Caleb Johnson
5 "It's Only Love"
C.J. Harris &
Malaya Watson
8 "I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)"
Jessica Meuse
& Dexter Roberts
10 "Islands in the Stream"

Top 7 – Competitors' choice

Each contestant performed two songs: one song chosen by a fellow contestant and either one duet with a fellow contestant or one trio with two fellow contestants. Contestants are listed in the order they performed.

Contestant Order Song Chosen by Result
Caleb Johnson 1 "Family Tree" Alex Preston Safe
Jessica Meuse 2 "Gunpowder & Lead" Sam Woolf Bottom two
C.J. Harris 4 "Gravity" Caleb Johnson Safe
Dexter Roberts 5 "Muckalee Creek Water" C.J. Harris Eliminated
Alex Preston 7 "The A Team" Dexter Roberts Safe
Sam Woolf 8 "Sail Away" Jessica Meuse Safe
Jena Irene 10 "Creep" Caleb Johnson Safe
Alex Preston
& Sam Woolf
3 "Let Her Go"
Jena Irene &
Caleb Johnson
6 "Gimme Shelter"
C.J. Harris, Jessica Meuse
& Dexter Roberts
9 "Compass"

Top 6 – Rock and roll & country

Each contestant performed two songs: one rock and roll and one country. Contestants are listed in the order they performed.

Contestant Order Song Result
Jena Irene 1 "Barracuda" Safe
10 "So Small"
Sam Woolf 2 "It's Time" Safe
7 "You're Still the One"
C.J. Harris 3 "American Woman" Eliminated
11 "Whatever It Is"
Alex Preston 4 "Animal" Safe
9 "Always on My Mind"
Caleb Johnson 5 "Sting Me" Safe
8 "Undo It"
Jessica Meuse 6 "Somebody to Love" Bottom two
12 "Jolene"

Top 5 – America's choice

Jason Mraz served as a guest mentor this week. Each contestant performed three songs chosen by viewers through a public vote, one of which was either a duet with a fellow contestant or a trio with two fellow contestants. Contestants are listed in the order they performed.

During the results show, the contestants were given the option to decide whether this week would be a non-elimination week (the following week would then feature a double-elimination), but it would have required a unanimous agreement. Since Jena Irene and Alex Preston declined the option, the elimination went forth as planned.

Contestant Order Song Result
Alex Preston 1 "Sweater Weather" Safe
8 "Say Something"
Caleb Johnson 2 "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" Safe
12 "Still of the Night"
Jessica Meuse 4 "Human" Safe
11 "Summertime Sadness"
Sam Woolf 5 "Sing" Eliminated
10 "How to Save a Life"
Jena Irene 6 "My Body" Safe
9 "Valerie"
Jena Irene, Alex Preston
& Sam Woolf
3 "Best Day of My Life"
Caleb Johnson
& Jessica Meuse
7 "Beast of Burden"
Non-competition performance
Performers Song
Keith Urban "Good Thing"

Top 4 – Love songs: break-ups, dedications, and make-ups

Each contestant performed three love songs: the first dealing with break-ups, the second dealing with personal dedications, and the third dealing with make-ups. Contestants are listed in the order they performed.

Contestant Order Song Result
Caleb Johnson 1 "You Give Love a Bad Name" Safe
5 "Travelin' Band"
9 "Maybe I'm Amazed"
Jessica Meuse 2 "Since U Been Gone" Eliminated
6 "So What"
10 "You and I"
Alex Preston 3 "Too Close" Safe
8 "I'm Yours"
12 "Yellow"
Jena Irene 4 "Heartbreaker" Safe
7 "Bad Romance"
11 "Can't Help Falling in Love"

Top 3

Each contestant performed three songs: one chosen by mentor Randy Jackson, one chosen by the judges, and one chosen by the finalists' hometown. Contestants are listed in the order they performed.

This was also American Idol's 500th episode.

Contestant Order Song Result
Caleb Johnson 1 "Never Tear Us Apart" Safe
4 "Demons"
7 "Dazed and Confused"
Alex Preston 2 "Pompeii" Eliminated
5 "Stay"
8 "Story of My Life"
Jena Irene 3 "Titanium" Safe
6 "Heart Attack"
9 "Creep"
Non-competition performance
Performers Song
The Chainsmokers "#Selfie"
Scotty McCreery "Feelin' It"
  1. ^ a b c Song chosen by Randy Jackson

Top 2 – Finale

Each contestant performed three songs, one of which was chosen by producer Simon Fuller, and are listed in the order they performed.

Contestant Order Song Result
Jena Irene 1 "Dog Days Are Over" Runner-up
3 "Can't Help Falling in Love"
5 "We Are One"
Caleb Johnson 2 "Dream On" Winner
4 "Maybe I'm Amazed"
6 "As Long as You Love Me"
  1. ^ a b Song chosen by Simon Fuller.
Non-competition performance
Performers Song
Top 13 "Breakaway"
Jena Irene & Caleb Johnson "We Will Rock You"
"Just a Girl"
"It's Only Love"
Sam Woolf
with Phillip Phillips
"Home"
"Raging Fire"
Jessica Meuse
with Jennifer Nettles
"That Girl"
"Wrecking Ball"
Jennifer Lopez "First Love"
Caleb Johnson
with Kiss
"Love Gun"
"Shout It Out Loud"
Ben Briley, Dexter Roberts,
C.J. Harris, Sam Woolf,
Alex Preston & Caleb Johnson
with Aloe Blacc
"The Man"
Kristen O'Connor, Emily Piriz,
Majesty Rose, Malaya Watson,
Jessica Meuse & Jena Irene
with Demi Lovato
"Really Don't Care"
"Neon Lights"
Jena Irene "Decode"
Jena Irene
with Paramore
"Ain't It Fun"
John Legend "You & I (Nobody in the World)"
Malaya Watson
with John Legend
"All of Me"
Alex Preston
with Jason Mraz
"Love Someone"
Richard Marx & Ryan Seacrest "Right Here Waiting"
Darius Rucker "True Believers"
C.J. Harris & Dexter Roberts
with Darius Rucker
"Alright"
Jena Irene & Caleb Johnson "Need You Now"
Lady Antebellum "Bartender"
Harry Connick, Jr., Randy Jackson,
Jennifer Lopez & Keith Urban
"True Colors"
"Go Your Own Way"
Caleb Johnson "As Long as You Love Me"
  1. ^ MK Nobilette was not a part of this group performance.

Elimination chart

Color key:

 Winner
 Runner-up
 Did not perform
 Saved by the public
 Saved by the judges
 Bottom two or three
 Eliminated
American Idol (season 13) - Eliminations
Contestant Pl. Semifinals Top 13 Top 12 Top 11 Top 10 Top 9 Top 8 Top 7 Top 6 Top 5 Top 4 Top 3 Finale
2/20 2/27 3/6 3/13 3/20 3/27 4/3 4/10 4/17 4/24 5/1 5/8 5/15 5/21
Caleb Johnson 1 Safe N/A Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Winner
Jena Irene 2 Wild Card Saved Safe Bottom three Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Runner-up
Alex Preston 3 Safe N/A Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Eliminated
Jessica Meuse 4 Safe N/A Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Bottom two Bottom two Safe Eliminated
Sam Woolf 5 Safe N/A Safe Safe Bottom three Safe Bottom three Saved Safe Safe Safe Eliminated
C.J. Harris 6 Wild Card Saved Safe Safe Safe Safe Bottom three Bottom three Bottom two Safe Eliminated
Dexter Roberts 7 Safe N/A Safe Safe Safe Bottom three Safe Safe Safe Eliminated
Malaya Watson 8 Safe N/A Bottom three Safe Safe Safe Safe Bottom three Eliminated
Majesty Rose 9 Safe N/A Safe Safe Bottom three Bottom three Eliminated
MK Nobilette 10 Safe N/A Bottom three Bottom three Safe Eliminated
Ben Briley 11 Safe N/A Safe Safe Eliminated
Emily Piriz 12 Safe N/A Safe Eliminated
Kristen O'Connor 13 Wild Card Saved Eliminated
Bria Anai Wild Card Eliminated
Spencer Lloyd Wild Card
Malcolm Allen Eliminated
George Lovett
Briana Oakley
Marrialle Sellars
Emmanuel Zidor
  1. ^ Because the judges used their one "judges' save" to save Sam Woolf, the top 8 remained intact for another week.

Controversy

Caleb Johnson comment

During his interview with AfterBuzz TV following the top 5 elimination show, Caleb Johnson made offensive remarks about his fans who tweet him song suggestions. "[Twitter] gives access to a bunch of retards to talk to me," Caleb said. "I don't really enjoy having to see somebody telling me what song I have to sing. I think at this point of the competition, I can pick and choose my own songs and represent me. I don't need 10,000 people saying, 'You should sing this, you should sing that. Listen to me!' Fortunately, guys, I'm going to listen to myself, whether you like it or not."

His comment was described as "arrogant," with some fans becoming angry. Caleb issued an apology on his Facebook page. "For the record that juvenile comment I made in the interview was not directed towards my fans but to the wackos that send hundreds of hate messages a day to me! You guys are amazing and I cannot thank you enough for your support. Sorry if it offended anybody it was the wrong choice of words. Also I greatly appreciate it when you guys give me song suggestions but it gets really overwhelming at the volume it comes in so please understand! Rock on!"

Reception

U.S. Nielsen ratings

Live + same day ratings

For the first time in nearly twelve years, an American Idol episode dropped beneath the ten-million viewer mark. This occurred on February 18, 2014. The last time an episode was below this mark was July 24, 2002.

Episode list
No. Episode Air date Ratings/Share
households
Rating/Share
18–49
Viewers
(millions)
Weekly
rank
Ref.
1 "It's a New Dawn, It's a New Day!"[citation needed] January 15 8.7 / 14 4.7 / 13 15.19 5
2 "The Auditions Head West"[citation needed] January 16 7.5 / 12 3.9 / 12 13.35 6
3 "Do It For Detroit!"[citation needed] January 22 7.8 / 12 4.0 / 11 13.29 4
4 "Just Peachy!"[citation needed] January 23 7.2 / 11 3.4 / 10 12.39 6
5 "Be-UTAH-ful"[citation needed] January 29 7.3 / 11 3.8 / 10 12.73 8
6 "OMG! Omaha!"[citation needed] January 30 6.6 / 10 3.2 / 9 11.42 11
7 "Hollywood or Home: An Idol Cliff 'Hangar'"[citation needed] February 5 8.0 / 12 3.9 / 11 13.43 9
8 "Hollywood Week: Group Love"[citation needed] February 6 6.5 / 10 3.1 / 9 11.08 13
9 "Hollywood Week: Final Judgment"[citation needed] February 12 6.7 / 10 3.4 / 10 11.67 9
10 "A Hollywood Ending"[citation needed] February 13 5.8 / 9 3.0 / 9 10.18 10
11 "Rush Week: Girls' Night"[citation needed] February 18 5.9 / 9 2.7 / 8 9.73 11
12 "Rush Week: Guys' Night"[citation needed] February 19 6.0 / 9 2.6 / 8 9.95 14
13 "Rush Week: Meet Your Finalists"[citation needed] February 20 5.7 / 9 2.4 / 8 9.36 15
14 "The Top 13: This Is Me" February 26 6.6 / 10 2.7 / 8 10.78 14
15 "The Top 13 Results" February 27 5.9 / 9 2.4 / 7 10.01 17
16 "The Top 12: Home" March 5 6.4 / 10 2.7 / 8 10.53 13
17 "The Top 12 Results" March 6 6.1 / 10 2.2 / 7 9.76 17
18 "The Top 11: Songs from the Cinema" March 12 6.2 / 10 2.4 / 7 10.27 12
19 "The Top 11 Results" March 13 5.4 / 9 2.2 / 6 8.86 21
20 "The Top 10: Billboard Top 10 Charts" March 19 6.0 / 10 2.2 / 7 9.83 13
21 "The Top 10 Results" March 20 5.1 / 8 2.0 / 6 8.41 22
22 "The Top 9" March 26 5.6 / 9 2.2 / 7 9.33 15
23 "The Top 9 Results" March 27 4.9 / 8 1.9 / 6 7.98 24
24 "The Top 8" April 2 5.6 / 9 2.1 / 6 8.89 21
25 "The Top 8 Results" April 3 4.9 / 8 1.7 / 5 7.72 25
26 "Top 8 Redux" April 9 5.4 / 9 2.0 / 7 8.90 18
27 "Top 8 Redux Results" April 10 4.7 / 8 1.8 / 5 7.63 23
28 "The Top 7" April 16 5.2 / 8 1.9 / 6 8.53 14
29 "Top 7 Results" April 17 4.9 / 8 1.9 / 6 7.97 15
30 "The Top 6" April 23 5.4 / 9 2.1 / 7 9.02 17
31 "Top 6 Results" April 24 4.7 / 8 1.8 / 5 7.68 24
32 "The Top 5" April 30 5.2 / 8 1.9 / 6 8.79 19
33 "Top 5 Results" May 1 4.3 / 7 1.5 / 5 7.03 >25
34 "The Top 4" May 7 4.9 / 8 1.8 / 6 7.97 22
35 "Top 4 Results" May 8 4.5 / 7 1.6 / 5 7.18 >25
36 "The Top 3" May 14 5.4 / 9 2.1 / 6 8.93 19
37 "Top 3 Results" May 15 5.2 / 8 2.0 / 6 8.67 21
38 "The Final 2" May 20 4.0 / 7 1.7 / 6 6.76
39 "Finale" May 21 6.1 / 10 2.6 / 9 10.53

Live + 7 day (DVR) ratings

Episode list
No. Episode Air date DVR 18–49 Total 18–49 DVR viewers
(millions)
Total viewers
(millions)
Ref.
1 "Auditions #1" January 15 0.7 5.4 2.585 17.773
2 "Auditions #2" January 16 N/A N/A N/A N/A
3 "Auditions #3" January 22 0.8 4.8 2.120 15.407
4 "Auditions #4" January 23 1.0 4.4 2.479 14.870
5 "Auditions #5" January 29 0.8 4.6 1.967 14.698
6 "Auditions #6" January 30 0.8 4.0 1.888 13.312
7 "Hollywood or Home"[citation needed] February 5 0.9 4.8 2.240 15.668
8 "Hollywood Group Round" February 6 0.9 4.0 2.268 13.346
9 "Hollywood Round, Top 30 reveal Part #1" February 12 0.8 4.2 1.864 13.539
10 "Hollywood Round, Top 30 reveal Part #2" February 13 0.8 3.8 1.874 12.058
11 "Rush Week: Girls' Night" February 19 N/A N/A N/A N/A
12 "Rush Week: Guys' Night" February 20 0.7 3.3 1.763 11.715
13 "Rush Week: Meet Your Finalists" February 21 0.6 3.0 1.592 10.947
14 "The Top 13: This Is Me" February 26 N/A N/A N/A N/A
15 "The Top 13 Results" February 27 N/A N/A N/A N/A
16 "The Top 12: Home" March 5 N/A N/A N/A N/A
17 "The Top 12 Results" March 6 N/A N/A N/A N/A
18 "The Top 11: Songs from the Cinema" March 12 N/A N/A N/A N/A
19 "The Top 11 Results" March 13 N/A N/A N/A N/A
20 "The Top 10: Billboard Top 10 Charts" March 19 N/A N/A N/A N/A
21 "The Top 10 Results" March 20 N/A N/A N/A N/A
22 "The Top 9" March 26 N/A N/A N/A N/A
23 "The Top 9 Results" March 27 N/A N/A N/A N/A

Critical response

Harry Connick Jr. was lauded for his performance as a judge. USA Today, Rolling Stone, and MTV all claimed that he "stole the spotlight" during the season premiere with his humor and knowledgeable feedback. Kristin Dos Santos of E! Online suggested that Connick Jr. could save the struggling show. She wrote that he was better than Simon Cowell, writing that while he is "brutally honest," he also shows heart. Robert Rorke of the New York Post wrote that Connick Jr. was unlikely to "save" American Idol, but also wrote that he made the show watchable again by bringing class and keeping the focus on the contestants. Keith Urban was also lauded as a judge, and his chemistry with Harry Contick Jr was considered one of the highlights of the season.

The "Rush Week" twist was not well received by critics. As described by Lyndsey Parker of Yahoo TV, "The other five just sat backstage for a couple hours (while their loved ones sat in the audience), waited in vain for their names to be called, and eventually went home." Furthermore, Amy Reiter of the Los Angeles Times stated, "Like the women, once 10 of the guys were given the chance to compete for our votes, the five remaining... were collectively shuffled before us, looking stunned and solemn, and then sent home, this time with a few tepidly encouraging parting words from the judges."

Music releases

Concert tour


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