American Idol 2020: Who Is Performing on Tonight’s Episode 9?

This week and next week, American Idol will be airing the Showcase Round performances of the Top 40 contestants of Season 18. The episode airs on ABC at 8 p.m. ET/PT and is two hours long.

During Showcase Round, Idol features solo performances from each of the artists who have made it this far in the competition. They will each be backed by a full band and perform in front of an audience for the first time on the show.

According to the episode synopsis, “The top 40 contestants take to the beach and perform solo in front of a live audience in Ko Olina, Hawaii. The judges sit down with each contestant to reveal their fate.”

The competition is judged by Katy Perry, Luke Bryan and Lionel Richie. The reality singing show is hosted by Ryan Seacrest and features in-house mentor Bobby Bones.

Read on to learn more about who is performing on tonight’s episode of Idol. 

Who Is Performing on Showcase Round Part One?

Dillon James Delivers INSPIRING Performance Of “The Times They Are A Changin’” – American Idol 2020Katy Perry claimed Dillon James is a star during this performance! Be inspired by Dillon’s cover of Bob Dylan’s “The Times They Are A Changin’” and then watch more American Idol on SUNDAY at 8/7c on ABC. See more of American Idol 2020 on our official site: http://www.americanidol.com Like American Idol on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AmericanIdol Follow American Idol on Twitter: https://twitter.com/americanidol Follow American Idol on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/americanidol/ AMERICAN IDOL, the iconic series that revolutionized the television landscape by pioneering the music competition genre, returns on ABC. American Idol 2020 Helping to determine who America will ultimately vote for to become the next singing sensation are music industry forces and superstar judges Luke Bryan, Katy Perry and Lionel Richie. Emmy® Award-winning host and producer Ryan Seacrest continues as host of the beloved series, while multimedia personality Bobby Bones serves at the in-house mentor.2020-03-26T12:45:00.000Z

Tonight’s episode features a dozen performances from contestants who have left Hollywood Week in the past and made it through to the top 40 of Season 18 of American Idol. It will reveal which of the contestants made it through to the Top 20 and eventual live episodes.

Here are the contestants performing tonight:

DeWayne Crocker Jr.
Dillon James
Francisco Martin
Jonny West
Faith Becnel
Louis Knight
Camryn Leigh Smith
Nick Merico
Just Sam
Amber Fiedler
Makayla Brownlee
Jovin Webb

The group features many contestants who have been referred to by the judges as stars or front-runners for the competition. They have even told Francisco Martin and Louis Knight that they could win the whole thing.

Two performances have been released early on American Idol’s YouTube channel. Camryn Lee Smith performed “Break Every Chain” by Tasha Cobbs Leonard, which leads Perry to say that she has a very “cool voice.” Lionel Richie later says he didn’t connect with the performance, and the judges sit down the next day to talk to Smith about whether or not she’ll move forward.

Dillon James’ performance has also been released. He performed “The Times They Are a Changin’,” and the judges seem very happy with the song choice, though his sit-down is not shown in the preview.

Were ‘Idol’ Live Shows Canceled Due to Coronavirus?

While the American Idol live shows have not been canceled due to the global coronavirus pandemic, they have been postponed. The schedule for the remainder of the season has shifted as well.

Originally, live shows would have started in early April, continuing on through much of May. Now, there will be no new episodes airing on Monday nights, and the show has spread out the next two episodes. They have also added two special American Idol: This is Me episodes, which will feature the top 20 contestants of Season 18. The special will highlight some of the journey for those contestants so far in the season, and it will also feature unseen footage of auditions and other performances.

ABC production has no solid plan with how to go forward from that point on since developments happen on a daily basis.

READ NEXT: ‘American Idol’ Cast 2020: Top 40 Contestants for Season 18