Later this month, Luke Bryan, Katy Perry and Lionel Richie will return to their judges chairs for Season 20 of American Idol.
Ahead of the popular singing competition series’ premiere on Feb. 20, Idol has shared a first look at the historic season’s new key art.
The graphic shared on Tuesday afternoon (Feb. 1), find Idol judges, Bryan, Perry and Richie as well as the show’s host, Ryan Seacrest, standing on the moon in outer space looking for the next star. The judges will embark on a quest “to discover the best talent in the universe” during the upcoming season.
In the photo, Richie holds a platinum colored flag with the Idol logo emblazoned on it, which was held up by a pole with a microphone at its peak. Perry is seen donning a sparkly silver dress and Bryan wearing a black suit complete with silver pinstripes. In addition to the Idol judges, Seacrest also appears in the photos and is seen holding an astronaut helmet.
According to PEOPLE, who gave the exclusive first look at the promotional graphic, the platinum color scheme serves as a nod to Idol’s new platinum ticket this year, which the judges will give out one in each city, including Nashville, Austin and Los Angeles.
On Wednesday (Jan. 12), ABC Network, home to the popular singing competition show, shared a clip revealing updates to the milestone 20th Season of Idol.
Contestants might be in for major surprises this season as Idol teased that some of their most popular alums may return to mentor Idol hopefuls. With Bobby Bones out as the in-house mentor, will artists like Carrie Underwood, Kelly Clarkson, Adam Lambert and Gabby Barrett return to share their experiences and offer advice.
“In terms of the contestants, I want to see every one of them come back, way back from the beginning,” longtime host Ryan Seacrest told Deadline. ”I remember a moment with Clay and Ruben, I want to see Carrie again, I love seeing Jennifer Hudson. I can remember standing next to them looking at their faces and reactions in moments of success and challenge.”
Idol showrunner and executive producer Megan Michaels Wolflick shared that the show will be welcoming back some familiar faces to fill Bones’ shoes.
“There’s not anyone to replace Bobby per se, but this year we will be leaning into our amazing American Idol universe alum to help our current Idols along the way in different stages of the competition,” Michaels Wolflick told the outlet. ”Lots of those familiar faces America has grown to love will be seen throughout the season, and we’re really excited to give back.”
The journey to discover America's next singing sensation begins Sunday, Feb 27 at 8/7c on ABC! #AmericanIdol 🎶✨ pic.twitter.com/kgji3WFUbO
— ABC (@ABCNetwork) January 13, 2022
Along with the possible return of famous Idol alumni, the show also revealed an addition to the audition process. On top of handing out golden tickets, the judges, Luke Bryan, Katy Perry and Lionel Richie, will have one platinum ticket to award contestants per city.
“See that wall over there… There is one platinum ticket that gets given in each city we go to, you get to go to Hollywood week, but you get a little shortcut because it’s the 20th year of creating superstars, and you’re a superstar,” Perry told one contestant in the teaser clip.
American Idol is set to return for its monumental 20th season on Sunday, February 27, 2022, at 8/7c on ABC.
