American Idol Season 20: What is a platinum ticket and what is its advantage?

American Idol is restructuring a couple of things as part of the format at this time. For the upcoming Season 20 auditions, the singing competition will see Lionel Richie, Katy Perry, and Luke Bryan return as judges, along with Ryan Seacrest as the host.

According to a report by The Wrap, adding to previous seasons when contestants needed an all-important golden ticket to advance to Hollywood Week, this time, nine lucky competitors (three in each audition city) will receive a platinum ticket.

With the previous two American Idol seasons affected by the COVID pandemic, this is the first time since Season 18 that auditions have been filmed outside of California. While some were filmed in Los Angeles, Ryan and the judges also explored Austin, Texas, and Nashville to meet more contestants.

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What does the American Idol platinum ticket hold for contestants?

Katy Perry explained the concept of the tickets at the show's TCA Winter Press Tour panel and said:

"This ticket gives them the ability to go to Hollywood Week, which we've already filmed and was so rigorous and survival of the fittest, and they get to basically observe from the box seats at the theater... one day, they get to rest their voice, strategize, check out the competition and select who they want to duet with. They get a tiny advantage because they're the cream of the crop."

The judges also confessed that they were mostly unanimous when it came to choosing which contestant would get the platinum ticket. Judge Lionel Richie revealed that it was very evident as to who was deserving of the ticket. He said:

"For me, it was just the fact that they're just naturals. Some people walk out and they're stars, they have all the boxes ticked: stage presence, delivery, their sound, their style. They have it all there so that when they open their mouths you know exactly who they are as artists. It just rings that bell. And when that happens you just give them the platinum ticket as fast as you can."

With the introduction of this concept, the show is expected to get even more interesting for fans. This acts as an incentive for viewers to tune in to every episode of the show, as tickets will be given out randomly over the course of the entire audition phase.

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Other elements of the show have also had to be altered due to COVID protocols. Season 18 of American Idol saw the judges providing their expert insights from the comfort of their homes.

Season 19's live shows saw the return of the Idol studio to a smaller audience and now with the upcoming season, the producers of the show are hoping to get back to a full audience. It was also announced that Bobby Bones, who served as the in-house mentor for the past four seasons, left the show.

American Idol Season 20 will premiere on February 27, 2022 at 8.00 pm ET on ABC.