Ashley Hess

The seventeenth season of American Idol premiered on March 3, 2019, on the ABC television network. It was the show's second season to air on ABC. Ryan Seacrest continued as host, while Katy Perry, Luke Bryan, and Lionel Richie returned as judges. Bobby Bones returned as the in-house mentor, and acted as a guest host for the episode on April 8, 2019. Laine Hardy won the season on May 19, 2019, while Alejandro Aranda was the runner-up, and Madison VanDenburg finished in third place.