A wide range of guest performers will hit the American Idol stage Sunday alongside this year’s top 14 contestants ahead of the live crowning of the 2025 winner during the three-hour finale, Ryan Seacrest announced on Monday’s (May 12) live episode.
Sunday’s performers include: Brandon Lake, Goo Goo Dolls, Good Charlotte, Jennifer Holliday, Jessica Simpson, Josh Groban, Kirk Franklin, Myles Smith, Patti LaBelle and Salt-N-Pepa. In addition, Idol judges Luke Bryan, Carrie Underwood and Lionel Richie will perform together, while artist in residence Jelly Roll will also hit the stage for a performance.
There’s no word yet on what songs the guests will perform or with which of the season 23 finalists. The list of guest performers truly ranges genres and generations, including pop (Simpson and Smith), rock (Good Charlotte and Goo Goo Dolls), Christian and gospel (Lake and Franklin), adult contemporary (Groban), R&B (LaBelle), rap (Salt-N-Pepa) and Broadway (original Dreamgirls star Holliday). And of course country is well-represented on the judging panel by Underwood and Bryan, not to mention artist-in-residence Jelly Roll.
Five contestants remain this season — Thunderstorm Artis, John Foster, Slater Nalley, Breanna Nix and Jamal Roberts — with two set to be eliminated on Monday’s episode, leaving only a top three to compete for Sunday’s crown. They’ll give their final performances during Sunday’s jam-packed finale.
The three-hour American Idol finale will air live Sunday coast-to-coast, starting at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT. The show is available to stream the next day on Hulu.
