It is this weekend when the season 20 finale of American idol will hit ABC and here we will have a glance at everything we need to know about it, from the finalists to the guest performance of this star-studded event.
The Finalists of American Idol: Season 20
Since Hollywood week aired on 28th March, the judges and the fans have been able to narrow down the intense competition which started with 24 singers to the three finalists of this season who are- HunterGirl, Noah Thompson and Leah Marlene.
⭐ 𝗧𝗢𝗣 𝟯 ⭐@NoahThompsonMu1 @HuntergirlMusic & @_LeahMarlene!#AmericanIdol pic.twitter.com/dTnaw5aZjV
— American Idol (@AmericanIdol) May 16, 2022
It is this weekend when will witness those hopefuls battle to make a mark in their singing career and win the prestigious title.
HunterGirl
From learning to play music when she was merely 14 to being able to make it to the top three in American Idol’s 20th season, HunterGirl has come a long way as she nears her 24th birthday. This 10-year journey has been described as long but all worth it by Hunter Wolkonowski.
Could @HunterGirlMusic be #TheNextIdol? ⭐️ Find out TONIGHT, LIVE coast-to-coast on ABC! pic.twitter.com/ktql2wtPqT
— American Idol (@AmericanIdol) May 22, 2022
Noah Thompson
A country artist from Kentucky, Noah Thompson has been the one contest whom we haven’t seen change even in the slightest form throughout his American Idol unique journey. Noah, a 20-year-old construction worker, has been a fan favourite since his audition and this finalist who did not even initially sign up for the competition himself has made it to the top 3.
Noah Thompson admits he never expected to make the finale on season 20 of #AmericanIdol https://t.co/DNDb4RmxvR pic.twitter.com/vp2KjGLBfc
— HollywoodLife (@HollywoodLife) May 17, 2022
Leah Marlene
From playing local gigs as a teenage singer and songwriter and making it to the finalists of American Idol Marlene has come a long way. It was Grehan, Marlene’s brother who brought her to advance in her career as a singer by capturing her live shows, albums and art portraits.
TUNE IN TO @AmericanIdol TONIGHT AT 5pm PST/8pm EST!!!!!! The #Top5 will become the #Top3 !!! Who’s ready to VOOOTTTEEE!?!! pic.twitter.com/AqR1Ogb1zD
— Leah Marlene (@_LeahMarlene) May 15, 2022
Marlene has been able to win the judge’s hearts at every step throughput her American Idol journey and it seems as if the Illinois native is all geared up for the Sunday’s live season finale.
Challenges for the Finalists: The Solo to the Duet Performances
Like the previous season of American Idol, this season as well will have singers fight for the crown by performing not only challenging songs but only some specific ones.
One of the challenges that the finalists will have to face is to sing an original tune that they recorded last week and this will be followed by the top three contestants belt a Bruce Springsteen classic, the Oscar-winning songwriter who also won a Grammy. Bruce’s music is also the theme for this season’s finale.
The moment when the Top 3 find out who they're singing with on SUNDAY NIGHT! 😱 #IdolFinale@_LeahMarlene + @KatyPerry! 🎆@NoahThompsonMu1 + @metheridge! ⭐️@HunterGirlMusic + @LukeBryan! 🤠 pic.twitter.com/bCWtaWC4er
— American Idol (@AmericanIdol) May 18, 2022
Once the finalists have performed solo they will be in for a duet challenge. The duets are as follows- Katy Perry and Leah Marlene will be performing Perry’s hit Fireworks, then Luke Perry and his star HunterGirl will be performing Randy Travis’s I Told You So and lastly Noah Thompson and be performing with Melissa Etheridge. It is yet to be revealed what tune Thompson and Etheridge will perform.
Katy even shared why she wanted to sing with Leah- “They asked us ‘what do you want to do?’ and I was like ‘well, you know, I did see a video of Leah Marlene singing ‘Firework’ when she was like 9 years old,’” Katy said. “I watched that video and was like ‘how powerful would that be if we sang that together on the finale.”
”Listen, I only save that song for inaugural events and Leah Marlene.”
Leah quickly said “yes.”
Celebrity Appearances at the Finale
American Idol Season 20 Finale will have major celebrity appearances, as we know that the American Idol finales historically is a spectacle of performances by popular singers and this year’s finale will be no different.
Season 4’s winner Carrie Underwood will grace the stage on Sunday night and Gabby Barrett from season 16 is all set to showcase a mini-concert for the fans. Other guest singers include Deana Carter, James Arthur, Earth, Wind & Fire, Michael Bublé, and Flo Rida. Further, Melissa Etheridge will also be singing a solo after pairing with Thompson.
This finale lineup is 🔥! Tune in live TONIGHT coast-to-coast at 8e/5p on ABC, and stream on Hulu. pic.twitter.com/bgCkfLHXLw
— American Idol (@AmericanIdol) May 22, 2022
With three hours of airing which will be live the list of celebrity performances does not finish with these special performances. Tai Verdes, Thomas Rhett and Ben Platt will also be appearing in the finale and some of these guests will also be pairing up with the top 10 contestants of American Idol.
The three-hour-long finale has a special treat for the audience, Thomas Rhett and Ketty Perry will be performing together and will be singing their duet “Where We Started.” Lionel Richie, one of the judges will also be performing but as of now, he has been completely mum about the songs he will be performing.
Finale Time
The three-hour-long finale will be aired on Sunday, the 22nd of May at 8 P.M on the ABC network. The show will also be available to stream on gubuTv and other streaming services. In the Syracuse, New York Area, the finale can be found on WSYR-TV.
Amazon Fire, Apple and Android will also have live streams of the show. The show will start with solo Performances by all three judges Luke Bryan, Lionel Richie, and Katy Perry.
This Season’s Predictions on Who Will Win?
When we say prediction we mean the contestant who is most likely to receive the maximum votes and to anticipate that we need to consider several factors. For instance, HunterGirl has an edge over the other two on social media as she has 118K followers as opposed to Marlene’s 86K and Thompson’s 87K.
Everything has led to this! The season finale of #AmericanIdol is live TONIGHT at 8e/5p on ABC, and stream on Hulu. pic.twitter.com/eGNsKIN0pn
— American Idol (@AmericanIdol) May 22, 2022
But if we take YouTube as a factor then Thompson’s last four performances on American Idol averaged 291K views giving him an advantage over HunterGirl and Marlene who has 205K and 186K views respectively.
The third factor which can be considered is the voters’ collective preference. But the truth is any one of the finalists could win as we cannot determine as of now.
But as a viewer where do you stand as we come near to the finale, which finalist do you believe should win?
