See What Awaits The ‘American Idol’ Top 30 In The Competitive New Ohana Round
Some wait all week for the weekend… and others wait for the weekend to end for American Idol night.
This coming Monday, March 9, the Top 30 of Season 24 of Idol will be, once again, singing through unfamiliar territory as they partake in what has been described as “a game-changing, all-new twist:” the Ohana Round.
While it has become customary after Hollywood Week on Idol to perform at Aulani, a Disney Resort & Spa, in Hawaii, the new Ohana Round will add a new level of competition to these tropical outdoor performances…
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All About The New Ohana Round
Following Hollywood Week — which was set in Nashville, Tennessee, as a “Music City Takeover” — the field of competitors was whittled down to a Top 30.
Performing with the sea at their back, the Ohana Round rules introduce a heightened competitive edge before the show begins letting viewers at home cast their votes.
Over three episodes, the Ohana Round will see the Top 20 rise above the rest.
While the regular Idol judges — Lionel Richie, Carrie Underwood, and Luke Bryan — will be there to provide their reactions to each performance, the Ohana Round will see the Top 20 shaped by three groups of individuals.
The three groups are called “Idol,” “Ohana,” and “Industry,” with “Idol” group being comprised of all the Top 30 finalists; “Ohana” being the finalists’ family members; and “Industry” being a selection of “industry tastemakers,” as Idol showrunner Megan Michaels Wolflick told Deadline.
These tastemakers include:
- singer Loren Gray;
- artist Anthony Gargiula;
- Broadway performer and vocal coach Cheryl Porter;
- Grand Ole Opry staff announcer Kelly Sutton;
- social media influencer Kaniyia Brown;
- social media influencer Terry McCaskill;
- social media influencer Evan Ross Katz; and
- Rolling Stone editor Shirley Halperin.
“Who gets to America’s vote?” asks Ryan Seacrest in a preview for Ohana Week. That will be determined by who gains the support of the “Idol,” “Ohana,” and “Industry” groups.
Ballot boxes are out for each member of these groups to cast their vote for who will remain in the competition. These ballot boxes will also determine who gets a Platinum Ticket.
“The judges have the power right all the way up to America’s Vote of who they want to put through, and I thought it’d be interesting to do some sort of focus group before they get to America’s Vote to inform the judges of who people are responding to,” Idol showrunner Megan Michaels Wolflick said. “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.”
Looking back to how this might’ve work out in one Idol‘s most divided seasons, Season 8, Wolflick said, “Back in the day, Kris Allen would have been the pick of the people and Adam Lambert probably would have been the industry pick.”
American Idol airs on ABC at 8 p.m. EST on Mondays, and is available to stream the following day on Hulu and Disney +.
See the preview for the new “Ohana Round” of American Idol, here:
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