Emily Brooke
The fifteenth season of American Idol, also branded as American Idol: The Farewell Season, premiered on the Fox television network on January 6, 2016. Ryan Seacrest continued as host, while Harry Connick Jr., Jennifer Lopez, and Keith Urban returned as judges. Scott Borchetta also returned as the in-house mentor. On April 7, 2016, Trent Harmon was announced as this season's winner, while La'Porsha Renae was the runner-up.
It was the series' final season to air on Fox. Despite the announcement that the series would be ending, ABC announced in May 2017 that they would revive American Idol.
For the first time, performances by the top 24 were judged solely by the show's judges and producers, who determined which contestants were eliminated. From each group of twelve, seven were advanced and five were eliminated, resulting in a top 14 for the third week of the semifinals.
The voting limit for this season was set at ten votes per contestant per voting method, half of what it had been the previous season.
The American Idol "Audition Bus Tour" visited the following cities: Seattle, Washington; Providence, Rhode Island; Baltimore, Maryland; San Diego, California; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Tucson, Arizona; Indianapolis, Indiana; Santa Fe, New Mexico; Athens, Georgia; Tulsa, Oklahoma; Oxford, Mississippi; and Wilmington, North Carolina. American Idol also partnered with two technology companies to allow people to audition using video recording kiosks and mobile apps in Culver City, California, and Nashville, Tennessee.
Auditions took place in:
The top 24 semifinalists were split into two groups of twelve, and were filmed at The Vibiana in Los Angeles, California. Each round consisted of back-to-back performances: each contestant sang one solo in the episode that aired on Wednesday, and one duet with an American Idol alumnus in the episode that aired on Thursday.
Color key:
Contestants are listed in the order they performed.
Contestants are listed in the order they performed.
Following the judges' selection of four contestants to advance to the Finals, the remaining ten semifinalists competed for the viewers' votes. Six of them advanced to complete the final group of ten. Contestants are listed in the order they performed.
Trent Harmon (born October 8, 1990) was from Amory, Mississippi. He auditioned in Little Rock, singing "Unaware" by Allen Stone. When Harmon suffered mononucleosis during Hollywood Week, he continued by singing Sam Smith's "Lay Me Down" as his first solo. In the group round, he was not able to perform with the other contestants due to his illness, and the producers allowed him to perform a solo to advance. He earned a spot in the top 24 during Showcase Week after performing Elton John's "Tiny Dancer."
La'Porsha Renae (born August 1, 1993) was from McComb, Mississippi. She had previously auditioned during the eighth season. She auditioned in Little Rock with Radiohead's "Creep." In Hollywood, she performed Katy Perry's "Roar" as her first solo. She advanced to the top 24 after she sang "The House of the Rising Sun" during Showcase Week.
Dalton Rapattoni (born February 6, 1996) was from Sunnyvale, Texas. He auditioned in Little Rock, with "The Phantom of the Opera." As his first solo in Hollywood, he sang "California Dreamin'" by The Mamas & the Papas. He sang Olivia Newton-John's "Hopelessly Devoted to You" as his final solo. He advanced to the Top 24 after he sang "It's Gonna Be Me" by NSYNC during Showcase Week.
MacKenzie Bourg (born September 11, 1992) was from Lafayette, Louisiana. He auditioned at Atlanta by performing a medley of songs by the judges. He sang his original song, "Roses," as his final solo to advance to the Showcase round. He advanced to the top 24 after he performed "Can't Help Falling in Love".
Sonika Vaid (born August 4, 1995) was originally from Weston, Massachusetts, but moved to Martha's Vineyard. She sang "Look at Me" by Carrie Underwood at her audition in Denver, and received high praise from the judges. She then progressed to the first round in Hollywood, where she sang "Almost Is Never Enough." As her final solo in Hollywood, she performed "One Last Time" by Ariana Grande. In the Showcase round, she performed "I Surrender" by Celine Dion and advanced to the Top 24.
Tristan McIntosh (born April 25, 2000) was from Nashville, Tennessee. She auditioned in Little Rock, performing "Why Baby Why" by Mickey Guyton. In Hollywood, she sang "Something in the Water" by Carrie Underwood as her first solo. She advanced to the Showcase round after performing her final solo, "What Hurts the Most." She advanced to the top 24 after singing "Stronger" by Faith Hill.
Lee Jean (born September 10, 1999) was from Bluffton, South Carolina. He auditioned in Atlanta, where he sang Ed Sheeran's "I See Fire." He sang "Stitches" by Shawn Mendes as his final solo. During Showcase week, he sang "Make It Rain" and earned a spot in the top 24.
Avalon Young (born July 16, 1994) was from San Diego, California. She auditioned in San Francisco by performing an acoustic version of "XO" by Beyoncé. During the final round in Hollywood, she sang Ariana Grande's "One Last Time" and advanced in the Showcase Round. She sang "Yo (Excuse Me Miss)" by Chris Brown and advanced to the top 24 semifinals.
Gianna Isabella (born March 30, 2000) was from Jackson, New Jersey. She auditioned in Philadelphia, where she sang "The House of the Rising Sun." She sang "One Night Only" as her first solo in Hollywood. She sang her mother's hit single. "I Still Believe," during Showcase Week and advanced to the top 24.
Olivia Rox (born January 16, 1999) was from Agoura Hills, California. She auditioned in San Francisco, where she performed "When I Was Your Man" by Bruno Mars. She advanced in the first round in Hollywood by performing "Genie in a Bottle" by Christina Aguilera. She sang one of her original songs and advanced to Showcase Week. She advanced to the top 24 after she sang Maroon 5's "Love Somebody."
There were seven weeks of finals with ten contestants competing. For the first three weeks, the judges had the ability to save one contestant amongst the bottom three or two, that resulted from America's votes based upon the previous week's performances. As of the Top 5, the results reverted back entirely to America's vote.
Color key:
Kelly Clarkson served as a guest judge this week. Contestants are listed in the order they performed.
Avalon Young, Olivia Rox, and Gianna Isabella were in the Bottom 3 based on America's votes from the previous week's episode. Rox performed "Trouble" while Isabella performed "If I Ain't Got You". However, Young's performance of "Earned It" earned the judges' save amongst the three, and consequently, the other two were eliminated. Young's performance was nevertheless up for America's vote along with the other seven. Contestants are listed in the order they performed.
Contestants performed two songs each: one duet with a fellow contestant, and one solo. Contestants are listed in the order they performed.
Avalon Young, Lee Jean, and Sonika Vaid were in the Bottom 3 based on America's votes from the previous week's episode. Duets were done before revealing the results from the previous week. Young performed "P.Y.T." while Jean performed "Let It Be". However, Vaid's performance of "I Have Nothing" earned the judges' save amongst the three, and consequently, the other two were eliminated. Vaid's performance was nevertheless up for America's vote along with the other five. Contestants are listed in the order they performed.
Contestants performed two songs each, one of which was chosen by the voters on Twitter. Contestants are listed in the order they performed.
Tristan McIntosh and Sonika Vaid were in the Bottom 2 based on America's votes from the previous week's episode. McIntosh performed "Independence Day". However, Vaid's performance of "Let It Go" earned the judges' final opportunity to rescue a contestant, and consequently, McIntosh was eliminated midway through the show, prior to singing a second song. Vaid's performances were nevertheless up for America's vote along with the other four.
Sia and Stevie Van Zandt served as guest mentors this week. Contestants performed two songs: a classic rock song and a song from Sia's discography. Contestants are listed in the order they performed.
In a deviation from other weeks, Sonika Vaid did not perform before she was eliminated, based on the previous week's votes.
Each contestant performed three songs: one dedicated to the finalists' hometowns, one chosen by mentor Scott Borchetta, and one chosen by the judges. Contestants are listed in the order they performed.
MacKenzie Bourg performed "Hallelujah," but was eliminated based on the previous week's votes.
Each contestant performed three songs, one of which was chosen by producer Simon Fuller, and are listed in the order they performed.
Dalton Rapattoni performed "Strike A Match," but was eliminated based on the previous week's votes.
Color key:
Live + same day ratings
The fifteenth season premiered to 10.96 million viewers, the second lowest since the series premiere. It received an all-time-low 3.0/9 18–49 rating, down 9% from last season. The season finale however had 13.30 million viewers, 5 million more than the fourteenth season finale.
Live + 7 day (DVR) ratings
Music releases
Official website
Similar Artists