‘American Idol’ Fans Disappointed by ‘Rushed’ Hollywood Week in Season 24

For years, Hollywood Week on American Idol was known to be the most grueling week of competition. The artists were put through an intense bootcamp that included multiple performances in front of the judges. With such little time to prepare, the contestants often stayed up until all hours of the night working on their songs, resulting in major stress and burnout.

For Season 24, though, things have changed up a bit. For starters, Hollywood Week is taking place in Nashville instead of Los Angeles. There will just be one major cut in Hollywood Week, bringing the number of contestants down from 127 to just 30 who will move onto the Ohana Round.

As host Ryan Seacrest explained in the February 23 episode, the artists performed individually, and after each block of performances, the judges deliberated and made cuts. Those who were chosen to move on were transferred into the Golden Room where they awaited what would come next. Seacrest noted that there would be another cut before the Top 30 is revealed, but the specifics of how those eliminations will be made was not revealed.

March 2 will be the final night of Hollywood Week programming, which means that the round will only air across two episodes total. Fans took to Reddit after this week’s episode aired and expressed frustration over how few performances viewers are getting to see because of this format and schedule.

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“This isn’t Hollywood Week. It is Hollywood Day,” the original poster wrote. “One performance to determine the top 30? This ‘big cut’ is a disservice to the contestants, judges, and voting audience.” The Redditor noted that past Hollywood Weeks included rounds like duets, groups, and the cutthroat Idol Arena, all of which are no longer part of the format.

Another fan agreed, writing, “it’s so hard to invest when things move so quickly,” and someone else commented, “It’s way too rushed.” Another user said, “Hollywood week was already pretty rushed before this and it’s even moreso now,” and someone else added, “I agree. It’s not fair that a lot of singers who nailed their audition got sent home. I feel like when they change things up too much it could cost them ratings and people will lose interest.”

What did you think of Hollywood Week so far? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.

American Idol, Season 24, Mondays, 8/7c, ABC