'American Idol' 2022 Judges & Host Salaries Revealed (& the Highest Paid Makes $25 Million Per Season!)

Long Island-native Christian Guardino struck a major chord with the judges on ABC’s “American Idol,” earning him a spot among the show’s top 24 contestants — and a trip to Hawaii to compete at Disney’s Aulani resort. Guardino, 22, was born with a rare condition that causes blindness, but he beat the odds and is now on the road making a name for himself on one of the industry’s biggest stages — which he told The Post’s Angela Barbuti is “so exciting — but it’s craziness.” Can you explain the condition you had as a kid? I was born with a rare disorder called Leber congenital amaurosis, but we call it LCA. It’s a disorder that causes a gene that’s missing in your eye, because if the gene isn’t there, it’s not producing proteins that your cells need to live, so they all start to die off and then it causes inevitable blindness.

Cameron Whitcomb understood the assignment when it came to the “American Idol” showstopper round.

We’re one week away from the live shows on American Idol season 20 and the Top 24 contestants have been revealed!

American Idol is back tonight with an all-new episode and we’re bringing you some pretty interesting info to go along with it!

Katy Perry shared a maternal moment with two moms-to-be during Sunday's episode of  Contestants Haley Slaton and Sam Moss were paired up to sing a duet after Sam announced that she was, in fact, four months pregnant. «Since my audition, life has thrown me a huge curveball,» Sam shared. «Becoming a mom this year was not part of my plan, but it brings a whole new reason and motivation to continue to do what I love.» Haley, who had been pregnant during her initial audition, was in her eighth month during the pre-taped performance and both contestants struggled with emotions and endurance as they prepared for their duet of Robyn's «Dancing On My Own.» Katy pulled the women aside to give them a pep talk before the performance and the moment left her in tears. «My lifelong thing is I'm never enough,» Katy shared with the singers.

Cameron Whitcomb and Tristen Gressett teamed up on Sunday night’s “American Idol” to form team “Both Crazy”.

Katy Perry has certainly left a memorable impression on this season's slate of contestants.The songstress and judge picked up the mic on Monday's new episode to belt out an impromptu rendition of her hit single «Teenage Dream,» and ended up teaching the young up-and-coming singers a lesson in keeping your composure.Right as Perry hit the lyric, «Put your hands on me and my skintight jeans,» the singer's own skintight coral red pleather pants split in the rear and she bent over.Instead of running off stage in embarrassment, Perry simply asked of the production crew, «Can I get some tape? Some gaffer tape?»ima get ur heart racing in my skin-tight jeans on #americanidol tonight

American Idol introduced a new twist for the 20th season, which is airing right now – the platinum ticket!

Katyrah Love easily impressed “American Idol” judges Lionel Richie, Luke Bryan and Katy Perry when she brought along her own instrument to her season 20 audition.

Sunday evening’s episode, singing Miley Cyrus’ 2009 hit “The Climb.”But it turns out Slaton had met her now-husband, Jordan Myles, during the first round of auditions — and even performed her solo for the panel of A-listers while she was five months pregnant, a feat she told host Ryan Seacrest was “not an obstacle” for her.The couple “got married pretty quick” on Christmas Eve, Slaton said in an interview with The Gazette in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and she gave birth to a son, Jaelyn Amir Myles, in January.“We just knew. We started right off the bat talking to each other, and it ended up being an everyday thing,” she said.

Don’t judge a book by its cover.

 contestants are keeping it in the family! Former top eight finalist Nadia Turner got the surprise of a lifetime during season 20’s fourth auditions episode on Sunday, after getting tricked into attending her daughter, Zaréh’s audition, on the guise that they were headed out to enjoy a mother-daughter spa day.Zaréh, not only competed on the show 17 years after her mother but wore the same gold halter top for her audition that Nadia wore to her audition for the show's fourth season in 2005. Season 4 is the season Carrie Underwood famously won, after going head-to-head with Bo Bice.With the help of Ryan Seacrest and the American Idol crew, Zaréh was able to fool her mom, blindfolding her and bringing her to the show's set for the big reveal.Ryan was there to meet Nadia and once he took her hands and said his signature, «This… is ,» the jig was up.

Haley Slaton gave it her all as she auditioned for “American Idol” while five and a half months pregnant during Sunday’s episode.

. The 23-year-old musician auditioned during Sunday's episode while five and a half months pregnant with a baby boy.«Being on the show pregnant is actually not going to be an obstacle for me,» Haley assured viewers on Sunday, telling host Ryan Seacrest that she'd already named her little guy, Jaelyn. She performed Miley Cyrus' «The Climb» for judges Katy Perry, Lionel Richie, and Luke Bryan, who all seemed to be on the fence after the performance. Luke called the audition «not perfect,» saying, «There were some amateur moments, but then there were some real moments.

It was Douglas Mills’ turn to wow the “American Idol” judges on Sunday’s episode.

Longtime viewers of “American Idol” will see a blast from the past on this week’s episode.

as contestant Sam Finelli faced his fears and auditioned for judges Katy Perry, Lionel Richie, and Luke Bryan. The 28-year-old bakery assistant opened up about his struggles with autism, expressing how music helped him get through a difficult childhood.«I don't connect with people very well. It's just a small part of who I am,» Sam explained.