Premiering in 2002, American Idol offers up-and-coming artists a foot in the door to the uber-competitive music industry. Last year, Mississippi P.E. teacher Jamal Roberts walked away with the record deal and $250,000 cash prize, earning a record-setting 26 million votes. Now in its 24th season, the world will meet Idol’s next batch of hopefuls during Monday’s (Jan. 26) season premiere on ABC. However, the road to victory will look a bit different this year, as producers announced some major changes on Thursday (Jan. 22.)

‘American Idol’ Is the First Reality Show To Introduce Live Social Media Voting

Although last year’s judges—Luke Bryan, Lionel Richie, and Carrie Underwood—will reprise their roles, season 24 otherwise marks an entirely new era of American Idol.

For the first time ever, viewers can now vote for their favorites in real time on social media, Deadline reports.

ABC and Fremantle, which produces the show in association with Sony Pictures Television’s 19 Entertainment, are still working out the logistics of social media voting. For the time being, text and phone voting aren’t going anywhere, executive producer Megan Michaels Wolflick told Deadline.


“We want to make it as easy as possible for people to vote for their favorites, weigh in from their couch with their second screen, in real time,” she said.

Farewell, Hollywood Week! Aloha, Ohana Round!

For the first time in American Idol history, no one will hear the coveted words, “You’re going to Hollywood!” That’s because Nashville is the show’s new home this season. Auditions took place exclusively in Music City at Belmont University.

This year, Idol producers have replaced Hollywood Week with the Ohana Round, a three-episode run filmed at the Aulani resort in Kapolei, Hawaii. This new phase strips the judges of their power. Instead, a group of “industry tastemakers” will cull the herd from 30 contestants to the top 20.

These tastemakers include Shirley Halperin, co-editor-in-chief at Rolling Stone magazine, cultural commentator Evan Ross Katz,  artists Loren Gray, Anthony Gargiula, Cheryl Porter, and Kelly Sutton, and social media stars Kaniyia Brown and Terry McCaskill. Their fellow finalists will also weigh in, plus two family members and friends.

“The judges will comment, and at the end, each of the groups will pick their favorite person. Those three people will get the platinum ticket,” Wolflick told Deadline. “Back in the day, Kris Allen would have been the pick of the people and Adam Lambert probably would have been the industry pick. I’m super curious who the [potential] Idols are going to pick because they can’t vote for themselves.”