Season 21 of ‘American Idol’ Starts Tonight!

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Season 21 of American Idol starts tonight. It’s the season premiere!

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The singing competition television show, which was created by Simon Fuller, kicks off its 21st season Sunday night (February 19), on ABC at 8 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. Central. The show is also streaming on the digital platform, Hulu.

The show features three judges—country star Luke Bryan, pop star Katy Perry and R&B star Lionel Richie—and one host, the award-winning Ryan Seacrest. Together, they search for the next big name in music.

The social media channel for Idol has been dropping clips of auditions and moments from the show for the past few days leading up to the season premiere.

American Idol is back! We’re pulling out all the stops for our biggest celebration ever,” said Perry in a promo video shown on the show’s official Twitter page.

“This year we’re celebrating in the biggest party cities in the U.S.A.,” added Seacrest in the video.

“This celebration is gonna last all season long,” said Richie.

“Join us for the greatest season of American Idol yet,” concluded Bryan.

The show also recently shared a clip of an audition in which a contestant performed the song “You Say” by artist Lauren Daigle—and Daigle, who was in Las Vegas for her own performance, surprised the contestant who sang her song. The two then did the song as a duet. Chills were had.

“Welcome to American Idol!” shouted Daigle as Perry looked on in amazement.

Check out American Idol tonight and check back with American Songwriter each week for updates on the new season’s progress.

Photo by Momodu Mansaray/Getty Images

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