Is Hollywood Week a thing of the past?

No one’s going to Hollywood. American Idol relocating to Georgia for upcoming season 25

Is Hollywood Week a thing of the past?

By Raechal Shewfelt

Raechal Shewfelt

Raechal Shewfelt is a writer at **. She has been working at EW since 2024. Her work has previously appeared on Yahoo and in American *Journalism Review* and *The Shreveport Times*.

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September 15, 2026 7:13 p.m. ET

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‘American Idol’ judges Lionel Richie, Carrie Underwood, and Luke Bryan. Credit:

Eric McCandless/Disney via Getty

- *American Idol* is moving to Georgia, production company Fremantle has confirmed to **.

- The reality competition’s 25th season is scheduled for 2027.

- In season 24, the show’s traditional Hollywood Week was held in Nashville.

*American Idol*, which has long been known for its Hollywood Week, is moving production to Georgia.

Production company Fremantle has confirmed to * *the plan to relocate the ABC show*. *No other information was available at this stage, a rep said.

The last season of *Idol *concluded in May, with singer-songwriter Hannah Harper — a favorite of judge Carrie Underwood — winning the title. The new season — the landmark 25th — is expected in 2027.

Deadline, the first to report the news, noted that the company is “in final talks with a studio complex” in the Atlanta area.

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Singers who pass the audition stage of the competition are traditionally told by the judges — if they impress them, that is — “You’re going to Hollywood!”

The current batch of music stars evaluating performers includes Underwood, Lionel Richie, and Luke Bryan.

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The same trio judged the most recent season, when they notably held the annual Hollywood Week not in California but at Belmont University’s Fisher Center in Nashville. The theme was “Music City Takeover.”

The reality competition’s new home state offers a tax credit of up to 30 percent for unscripted and reality TV productions, such as *American Idol*, that spend at least $500,000 there.

The move is part of a trend of shows moving outside traditional filming areas because of bigger tax breaks.

Hannah Harper on ‘American Idol’.

Eric McCandless/Disney via Getty

As *Deadline* noted, Fox has also moved another major music competition, *The Masked Singer*, out of Los Angeles and into New Jersey.

*American Idol* — which introduced audiences to Kelly Clarkson; Jennifer Hudson; Adam Lambert; Scotty McCreery; Fantasia Barrino; and many more — has been on the air since 2002.

Originally judged by Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul, and Randy Jackson, the show debuted on Fox. It ran there until 2016.

*Idol* has been on ABC since 2018.

Original Article on Source

Source: “EW Reality”