The first live show of season 24 on “American Idol” will be a whirlwind of performances and voting results on March 30, 2026. Beginning at 8 p.m. Eastern / 5 p.m. Pacific, host Ryan Seacrest will kick off the show by revealing which of the Top 20 singers have made it through to the Top 14, based on viewer votes cast during the last two weeks’ shows.

The Top 14 will then “lift their voices in inspiring songs of faith,” according to ABC, and fans will have to cast their votes DURING the show. Important to note: the “American Idol” voting app from years past is gone, and you do not have to wait until a contestant’s performance to vote for them.

Voting will end during the final commercial break, and Seacrest will reveal two more contestants going home, with 12 finalists remaining in the competition. Here’s how to vote live for your favorites.

Two weeks ago, as the Top 20 performed from Disney’s Aulani Resort & Spa in Hawaii, the show introduced its new social media voting system, becoming the first reality TV competition to allow voting via social media platforms, per Deadline. The March 30 program marks the first time that the system is utilized during a live show — and you have to be very careful to ensure your social media votes count.

When the two-hour episode starts at 8 p.m. Eastern time, a special voting post will be pinned to the top of three “American Idol” social media accounts. Look for the purple VOTING post — it should be the first post in each feed — and that’s where you’ll vote in the comment section. Only viewers 18 and older are allowed to participate in social voting, per ABC’s rules.

For easy access, here’s the show’s Instagram feed, here’s the show’s Facebook account, and here’s the show’s TikTok account.

In those three special social media posts, you can vote up to 10 times for each remaining 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 Ruby Rae, you’d type RUBY 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 “KEYLA x 10” or “10 Votes for KEYLA.” 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, Lucas, and Rae,” that would only earn a vote for Chris.
• DO NOT try to cast your votes on any social media posts other than the three official voting posts at the top of each “American Idol” social media account. They will not be seen or counted.
• DO NOT misspell contestants’ names — those votes will not be counted either.

‘American Idol’ Voting Online & Via Text

There are two other tried-and-true ways to cast your vote during the March 30 live show — via the “American Idol” website and via text.

For online voting, go to AmericanIdol.com/Vote (once the 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 the episode starts (8 p.m. Eastern time). You can do this up to 10 times for each contestant you want to advance. The singers’ unique numbers are the same as they have been since voting began; below are the numbers assigned to each contestant.