May 13, 2019

ABC announced today that American Idol has been picked up for its third season on the network - and what will be its 18th overall. The good news comes ahead of this Sunday's finale, which will crown either Laine Hardy, Alejandro Aranda,or Madison VanDenburg their latest singing champ.

The competition series has been a reliable performer for the network since its revival. It was in 2018 that ABC brought American Idol back as a mid-season entry just one year after it was cancelled by its original network, Fox. While the show's ratings are far from what they were during the height of its popularity many years ago, the revived edition still draws a decent audience that ranks it as the network's #2 rated unscripted series behind only The Bachelor.

Remaining to be confirmed is the judging lineup for Season 18. Katy Perry, Luke Bryan, and Lionel Richie have been with the show for its two seasons on ABC, but their return is yet-to-be solidified for 2019-2020.