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Season 22 of American Idol is just getting warmed up, and a bunch of contestants are going viral for their auditions including Abi Carter, Nyachomba Muchai, Kaibrienne “KB” Richins, and Emmy Russell, granddaughter of the late country legend, Loretta Lynn.
Carter wowed the judges (and the internet) with her chilling rendition of Billie Eilish’s “What Was I Made For?” The performance snagged five million views on TikTok and over one million views on YouTube.
Muchai’s performance of “Wait a Minute” by Willow Smith garnered over a million views on TikTok along with Richins’ rendition of Zach Bryan’s “Something in the Orange” and Russell’s performance of her original song “Skin.”
Judges Lionel Richie, Katy Perry and Luke Bryan and host Ryan Seacrest have all returned for the new season of American Idol, which will be Perry’s last, she revealed in an interview with Jimmy Kimmel Live! ahead of the Season 22 premiere on Feb. 18.
Want to watch the new season, or binge some of the older episodes? Keep reading for a breakdown of ways to watch and stream American Idol from anywhere.
American Idol Season 22: How to Watch for Free Without Cable
What time does the American Idol come on? The show airs on Sundays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.
Because American Idol is on network television, you can potentially watch the show with an HD antenna, but also through cable, satellite or a streaming subscription that has ABC.
If you’ve been itching to getting rid of cable, but don’t want to end up spending hundreds of dollars a month, here’s how to stream your favorite channels for less than $80 per month.
Join DirecTV for access to 75+ channels, including ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox, ESPN, HGTV, MTV, AMC, A&E, TLC, ID, OWN, CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, Univision, Paramount Network, Hallmark Channel and more, plus over 60,000 movies and shows on-demand. The subscription includes a free trial for five days, so you can stream American Idol and other shows for free.
Fubo, SlingTV, Verizon Fios and Vidgo are some of the affordable streaming options for cord cutters.
Like other ABC shows, the new season of American Idol will stream live on ABC.com and the ABC app. If you have internet access, you can stream American Idol from just about anywhere (use ExpressVPN to stream internationally).
How to Watch American Idol on Hulu
Those who miss Sunday’s episode can stream it on Hulu the next day. Not subscribed? Hulu’s most popular plan is currently $7.99 per month after a free trial for seven days.
Hulu offers ad-free streaming for $14.99 per month, students discounts, and bundle deals with Disney+ and ESPN+.
Stream network TV shows a day after they premiere on television, in addition to tons of movies and Hulu exclusives such as Shogun, The Bear, Only Murders in the Building, The Handmaid’s Tale, Death & Other Details, The Kardashians, and Love & WWE: Bianca & Montez.
Hulu subscribers can add Starz, Max and other channels to Hulu, create up to six profiles under one account and stream from up to two different screens at the same time.
Looking for live channels? Hulu + Live TV gets you 90+ channels, and Disney+ and ESPN+ for less than $80 a month.
Watch Russell’s American Idol audition below.