Kellie Pickler will be marking her return to the show that made her a star when she appears on an upcoming episode of American Idol.
American Idol‘s upcoming Top 5 episode, airing May 4, will feature a reunion, 20 years in the making. Five of the Top 10 contestants from the show’s Class of 2006 will return to duet with the remaining contestants. Kellie Pickler, Taylor Hicks, Paris Bennett, Elliott Yamin, and Bucky Covington will be welcomed back to the Idol stage, according to American Idol Podcast host Danielle Fishel, who shared the news during the April 29 episode.
Kellie Pickler’s appearance marks her first public performance since 2024. Kellie made a surprise appearance at the Ryman Auditorium to participate in a Patsy Cline tribute concert. That performance also served as a tribute to Pickler’s late husband, Kyle Jacobs, who died in February 2023 at the age of 49.
RELATED: KELLIE PICKLER’S HUSBAND, KYLE JACOBS, DEAD AT 49
Pickler took the Ryman stage to sing “The Woman I Am,” a song she co-wrote with Jacobs for her 2013 album of the same name.
“My husband and I actually wrote this song together, gosh, over a decade ago,” Pickler told the audience. “The last time I was here in the Ryman Auditorium was with him on a date night, and I know he is here with us tonight.”
What else is in store for the American Idol Season 24 Top 5?
Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson, two of Idol‘s original judges, will also be making a comeback. The pair will serve as guest mentors for the Top 5, and Abdul will join Lionel Richie, Carrie Underwood, and Luke Bryan to judge.
The two-hour episode will also feature performances by Dancing With the Stars pros Jan Ravnik, Witney Carson, Gleb Savchenko, and Rylee Arnold.
At the end of the episode, the three finalists will be revealed. Keyla Richardson, Hannah Harper, Chris Tungseth, Jordan McCullough, and Braden Rumfelt will find out which of them will be named finalists and whose Idol journey will come to an end.