How to Vote TONIGHT: ‘American Idol’ Changes 2026 Viewer Voting

Season 24 of “American Idol” is well underway and it’s primarily up to viewers to decide who will advance each week. Since Hollywood Week, the number of contestants has dropped from 30 to 24, then from 20 to 14, then from 12 to 11, from 11 to 9, and then to the Top 7. On April 27, 2026, the competition will be narrowed down to the Top 5, as two more talented singers go home.

Want to make sure your favorites stick around? There are some significant changes to the voting system in 2026. Here’s a primer on what’s changed and how to make sure your votes count.

---

‘American Idol’ Introduces Social Media Voting in 2026: How It Works

Disney

In 2026, “American Idol” became the first reality TV competition to allow voting via social media platforms, per Deadline. This format has replaced the “American Idol” app that many fans have used in the past to vote for their favorite singers, but the rollout has faced some issues, so it’s important to follow the instructions carefully.

Here’s how it works. As the two-hour episode starts at 8 p.m. Eastern time, a special voting post will be pinned to the TOP of the “American Idol” Instagram account, Facebook account, and TikTok accounts. Look for the purple post that shows all 10 performers of the night and how to spell their names. This post is where you will cast your votes, in the comment section.

In the voting post on EACH social media platform, you can vote up to 10 times for each contestant by typing in the singer’s FIRST name only in 10 separate comments. For example, if you want to cast a vote for Keyla Richardson, you’d type in KEYLA — nothing else — in up to 10 separate comments. If you also want to vote for someone else, like Brooks Rosser, you’d type BROOKS in up to 10 other comments on the post.

IMPORTANT! Here’s how to ensure your votes get counted:

• Do NOT try to take a shortcut and write something like “HANNAH x 10” or “10 Votes for HANNAH.” Each comment only equals one vote.
• Do NOT reply to your own comments or others’ comments with a contestant’s name. Replies will not be counted, only original comments.
• Do NOT post more than one name in a comment. Only the first name in a comment will be counted. So, if you try to write something like “Chris, Daniel, and Kyndal,” that would only earn a vote for Chris.

Only viewers 18 and older are allowed to participate in social voting, per ABC’s rules, with votes accepted until the last commercial break of each live episode.

---

2 Other Ways to Vote During ‘American Idol’ Season 24

Disney

While the social voting is new, “American Idol” is keeping its online voting and text voting for now, too. Viewers can use these tactics to increase the number of votes they cast.

For online voting, go to AmericanIdol.com/Vote as each episode starts and you’ll be able to cast up to 10 votes per contestant you’d like to see move on in the competition. If you don’t already have a MyDisney account, you’ll be able to create one with your email address. To vote online, you must be at least 16 years old and located in the U.S., Puerto Rico, or the U.S. Virgin Islands, per ABC’s rules.

For voting by text, you can text a favorite contestant’s unique number to “21523” as soon as each episode starts (8 p.m. Eastern time). You can do this up to 10 times. Each contestant is keeping the original number they were assigned when viewer voting began. The remaining contestants’ numbers are below:

• Daniel Stallworth — Text 4 to 21523
• Hannah Harper — Text 8 to 21523
• Braden Rumfelt — Text 9 to 21523
• Brooks Rosser — Text 10 to 21523
• Jordan McCullough — Text 14 to 21523
• Chris Tungseth — Text 17 to 21523
• Keyla Richardson — Text 20 to 21523

As with the social vote, online and text votes also end during the final commercial break of each live show. “American Idol” kicks off at 8 p.m. Eastern time, and the Top 5 will be announced by Seacrest during the final moments of the live episode.