American Idol (season 15)

Changes

Regional auditions

Hollywood week

Semi-finalists

Semi-finals

Group 1

Group 2

Wild Card round

Finalists

• Trent Harmon is from Amory, Mississippi. Harmon fell into music when his mother taught him to sing "Amazing Grace" at the age of 5. His family owns a farm and a restaurant. He sang and performed in numerous musicals throughout high school and college. Before his graduation from the University of Arkansas at Monticello, he led worship services on campus. He previously tried out for an audition on The Voice. He auditioned in Little Rock, Arkansas, 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 performance. In group round, he was not able to perform with other contestants due to his sickness and the producers allowed him to perform a solo to advance. He landed a spot in the Top 24 during Showcase Week after performing Elton John's "Tiny Dancer". On April 7, Harmon was named as the winner of the fifteenth season and received a recording contract with Big Machine Records. His single "Falling" was then released, and peaked at number 3 on the iTunes Top 100.
• La'Porsha Renae is a call representative from McComb, Mississippi. At 16, she once tried out for Idol during the eighth season. After her college graduation at the age of 22, Renae was a former victim of domestic abuse. After a year, she separated with her husband and moved to McComb with her one month old daughter Nayalee Keya. Accompanied with her daughter, she returned to audition at Little Rock, Arkansas and earned her golden ticket by performing in front of the judges with Radiohead's Creep. During Hollywood Week, she performed Katy Perry's "Roar" in her first solo performance. She advanced to the Top 24 after she sang "The House of the Rising Sun" at Showcase Week. She was the last female contestant. Renae was announced as the runner-up on April 7. It was revealed on the season finale that Renae had received a recording contract with Big Machine Records.
• Dalton Rapattoni is from Sunnyvale, Texas. At the age of 11, he started learning to play guitar. Rapattoni works as a vocal coach in School of Rock. He was a member of the band Fly Away Hero. In 2012, Rapattoni was discovered in a national talent search where he was part of Disney boy band IM5 with other four members. After he left the band in 2014, he reformed his former band Fly Away Hero with new bandmates. Rapattoni auditioned in Little Rock, Arkansas and sang "The Phantom of the Opera". In his first solo performance in Hollywood rounds, he sang "California Dreamin'" by The Mamas & the Papas. He sang Olivia Newton-John's "Hopelessly Devoted to You" in his final solo performance. He advanced to the Top 24 after he sang "It's Gonna Be Me" by NSYNC during Showcase Week. He was eliminated on April 6 and finished in third place.
• MacKenzie Bourg is from Lafayette, Louisiana. He was a contestant on the third season of The Voice where he was defaulted to CeeLo Green's team after being voted off in the first live show. Bourg auditioned at Atlanta performing a medley of songs by the judges. He sang his original song "Roses" for his final solo performance to advance to the Showcase round. Bourg advanced to the top 24 after he performed "Can't Help Falling in Love". He was eliminated on March 31. Bourg released his single "Roses" in association with Big Machine Records on April 7. His single peaked at number 4 of the iTunes Top 100.
• Sonika Vaid was originally from Weston, Massachusetts who moved to Martha's Vineyard. She is of Indian descent and her parents immigrated to the U.S. when she was a child. She began singing at the age of three. Aside from singing, she also plays the piano. She graduated from Weston High School in 2013. Prior to entering Idol, she was studying biology and a regular performer at a local park near her home for special events. Vaid sang "Look at Me" by Carrie Underwood at her audition in Denver, Colorado and received high praises from the judges, earning a golden ticket to Hollywood. She then progressed to the first round of Hollywood week and sang "Almost Is Never Enough". Vaid made it to the final Hollywood solo round, where she performed "One Last Time" by Ariana Grande. In Showcase round, she performed "I Surrender" by Celine Dion and advanced to the Top 24. She was eliminated on March 24.
• Tristan McIntosh is from Nashville, Tennessee. McIntosh won Q108's Clarksville's Got Talent competition in April 2013 at the age of 13. Her mother Amy was an army major who works in the military overseas. She performs at special events and venues. She was also a member of the Children's Christian choir and the Let Freedom Sing Tour in the past. McIntosh auditioned at Little Rock, Arkansas, performing "Why Baby Why" by Mickey Guyton. During Hollywood Week, she sang "Something in the Water" by Carrie Underwood as her first solo performance. She advanced to the Showcase round after performing her final solo performance, "What Hurts the Most". She advanced to the Top 24 after singing "Stronger" by Faith Hill. She was eliminated on March 17.
• Lee Jean is from Bluffton, South Carolina. Jean's first experience in music is singing in high school campus. He was part of a duo with fellow musician Hannah Lindsey Lane. He auditioned at Atlanta and sang Ed Sheeran's "I See Fire". He sang "Stitches" by Shawn Mendes for his final solo performance. In Showcase week, he sang "Make It Rain" to land a spot in the top 24. He was eliminated along with Avalon Young on March 10.
• Avalon Young is from San Diego, California. She was named by her mother after the album of the same name by Roxy Music. She learned how to play guitar during her middle school years. Young began singing during her senior year and was a band member of "Over the Edge". Young originally works as a server at a restaurant. She auditioned in San Francisco, California by performing an acoustic version of "XO" by Beyoncé. During the final round of Hollywood week, Young sang Ariana Grande's "One Last Time" to advance in the Showcase Round. She sang "Yo " by Chris Brown and advanced to the top 24 semifinals. She was eliminated along with Lee Jean on March 10.
• Gianna Isabella is from Jackson, New Jersey. She is the daughter of singer Brenda K. Starr. In 2014, Gianna won the 'New York Dream Night Talent Search' competition. She auditioned in Philadelphia and sang "The House of the Rising Sun". She sang "One Night Only" during her first solo performance in Hollywood Week. She sang her mother's hit single "I Still Believe" during Showcase Week to advance to the Top 24. She was one of the first two finalists to be eliminated on March 3.
• Olivia Rox is from Agoura Hills, California. Olivia is the daughter of jazz saxophonist Warren Hill and music producer Tamara Van Cleef. She wrote her first song on the piano at the age of 4. She earned her golden ticket during an audition in San Francisco, California, after she performed "When I Was Your Man" by Bruno Mars. She advanced in the first round of Hollywood Week by performing "Genie in a Bottle" by Christina Aguilera. She sang one of her composed original songs to advance for the Showcase week. She advanced to the Top 24 after she sang Maroon 5's "Love Somebody". She was one of the first two finalists to be eliminated on March 3.

  Finals

Top 10 – Songs from 2002–present

• Guest judge: Kelly Clarkson

Top 8 – Idol Grammy Hits

• Group performance: "Confident" with Demi Lovato
• Note: Olivia Rox performed "Trouble" and Gianna Isabella performed "If I Ain't Got You" in the Top 8 performance night for a spot in the top eight. They were part of the Top 10 week's Bottom 3 along with Avalon Young. However, both of them were eliminated and did not advance.

  Top 6 – American Idol All Time Song Book

• Note: Lee Jean performed "Let It Be" and Avalon Young performed "P.Y.T. " in the Top 6 performance night for a spot in the top six. They were part of the Top 8 week's Bottom 3 along with Sonika Vaid. However, both of them were eliminated and did not advance.

  Top 5 – America's Twitter Song Choice

• Note: Tristan McIntosh performed "Independence Day" in the Top 5 performance night for a spot in the top five. She was part of the Top 6 week's Bottom 2 along with Sonika Vaid. However, she was eliminated and did not advance.

  Top 4 – Classic rock / Sia

• Guest mentors: Sia & Stevie Van Zandt

Top 3 – Hometown Dedication / Scott Borchetta's Choice / Judges' Choice

• Note: MacKenzie Bourg performed "Hallelujah" in the Hometown Dedication round, but did not advance to the Top 3.

  Top 2 – Original's Single / Simon Fuller's Choice / Favorite Performance

• Group performance: "Stole the Show"
• Note: Dalton Rapattoni performed "Strike A Match" in the Original's Single round, but did not advance to the Top 2.

  Elimination chart

Contestants who appeared on other seasons/shows

• MacKenzie Bourg was a semifinalist on the third season of The Voice and was on Team Cee Lo, but was eliminated on the first live show of the season.
• Adam Lasher, C.J. Johnson, and Sonika Vaid all auditioned for The Voice. However, none of them scored a chair turn.
• Olivia Rox appeared on the eighth season of America's Got Talent; however, she was cut during "Vegas Week".
• Shelbie Z was a contestant on the fifth season of The Voice on Team Blake. She was eliminated during the first live show.
• Jenna Renae appeared on the tenth season of America's Got Talent; however, she was cut during Week 2 of the Judge's Cuts.
• Stephany Negrete was a finalist on a program called "Tengo Talento, Mucho Talento", season 12, on Estrella TV, an American channel dedicated to the Latino culture.
• Anatalia Villaranda tried out on the twelfth season of The Voice was on Team Alicia. She was eliminated during the first live show.
• Lindita Halimi won the Festivali i Këngës 55 in Albania, so she would represent Albania in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 in Kiev, Ukraine with the song "World"; however, she was eliminated in Semifinal 1.
• Three contestants in the sixteenth season appeared in this season:
• *Jurnee
• *Marcio Donaldson
• *Catie Turner

  Guest performances

Reception

U.S. Nielsen ratings

International broadcasts

Music releases

Concert tour