What Is American Idol's Platinum Ticket? Plus, Meet the 4 Contestants Who Received Them in 2023

justjared.com:

American Idol introduced a new twist last year with the “platinum tickets” and they handed them out again for season 21 in 2023.

So, what are these special tickets? Platinum tickets allow a contestant to advance directly to the second round of Hollywood Week and they get to choose their duet partners before the rest of the contestants. “This ticket gives them the ability to go to Hollywood Week, which we’ve already filmed and was so rigorous and survival of the fittest, and they get to basically observe from the box seats at the theater — one day, they get to rest their voice, strategize, check out the competition and select who they want to duet with,” Katy Perry shared, via The Wrap.

She added, “They get a tiny advantage because they’re the cream of the crop.” Last year, three contestants received the tickets and this year, four of them did.

Three tickets were handed out by the judges during the auditions and America got to select another contestant to receive one. Browse through the slideshow to meet this year’s four recipients of the Platinum Ticket…