There have been a few changes this year on American Idol.
One of the big changes was bringing in the platinum tickets to go along with all the golden tickets to send contestants through to Hollywood Week.
The platinum tickets also gave the Duets Challenge a huge change this year.
Here is what is different about the Duets Challenge on American Idol’s Hollywood Week this season.
How is Duet Challenge different this year on American Idol?
The Duets Challenge on Hollywood Week changed in 2021. In the fourth season on ABC and the 19th season in all, the production changed up this round.
Instead of the singers picking out partners for the duets and competing to move on to the next round, the judges made the decisions.
The judges chose all duet partners last season, putting together the best possible matchups.
This year, that format remains the same with one major change.
The judges will still choose the duet partners for this Sunday’s competition, but there are three duets that they will not get the choice in.
The platinum ticket holders not only got the week off from competing in the Genre Challenge, but they sat in the box seats and watched the performances.
These platinum ticket holders will also get to choose their own partners.
There are two options here. One is to take on someone who should be easy to beat. The other is to pick out a great singer to really show their talent against the best.
If they choose the weaker singers, the judges are not likely to be impressed.
Who is favored heading into Hollywood Week Duet Challenge?
The people to beat remain the three platinum ticket holders.
Not only can they choose their duet partners, but they are already considered the best of the best from the auditions. However, they now have to prove they were not just one-hit wonders in their auditions.
These three singers are country singer HunterGirl, soulful singer Jay Copeland, and TikTok star Kenedi Anderson.
However, these singers will have to fight to earn their spots, because there are some great singers who didn’t get the platinum tickets.
Some of the frontrunners include Ava Maybee, Lady K, Nicolina Bozzo, and Cadence Baker, as well as underdogs like Leah Marlene, Cole Hallman, and Kelsie Dolin.
The winners of the Duets Challenge will then move on to the Showstopper and Final Judgement round.
American Idol airs on Sunday and Monday nights at 8/7c on ABC.