Michael Bublé, Carrie Underwood and Thomas Rhett.Photo: Carlos Alvarez/Getty, Barry Brecheisen/Getty, Jason Kempin/Getty
Don’t worry,American Idolfans! Though the season 20 finale is going to be a nail-biter as we wait to see which contestant takes home the title — it’ll also be a night with fun-filled performances to take the edge off.
PEOPLE can exclusively announce that the singing competition series' season finale will include a star-studded lineup of performances.
Beginning with the show’s judges,Luke Bryan,Katy PerryandLionel Richiewill each take the stage for special performances as their season comes to a close.
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Later, Perry will return to the stage with country starThomas Rhett, whom she collaborated with on “Where We Started” on his recently released album of the same name.
Meanwhile, as announced on last week’s episode, Michael Bublé will hit the stage with top seven contestantChristian Guardino.
At the season finale next week, the top three contestants will hit the stage in hopes of securing America’s vote, with one round dedicated toBruce Springsteen.
At last week’s show, hostRyan Seacrestrevealed that constants Noah Thompson and Fritz Hager hadtested positive for COVID-19, meaning they couldn’t be present during the live show and had to deliver their performances in an alternative way.
PEOPLE caught up with both contestants — who ended up making the top five — after the show and they detailed their thought processes.
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“I was pretty worried,” Hager said. “They filmed my rehearsals from before I got my positive result back and my throat was already getting kind of weird at that point. There’s something about being in that studio with that crowd that really just elevates performances. And I was really, really nervous. Going up against the other contestants who are in the room … it’s so daunting to have my fate sealed for me yesterday, and then just waiting to see how it plays out.”
Meanwhile, Thompson said it was a matter of pushing through his pain.
“This morning, I woke up with probably … I’ve never had such a sore throat my entire life. It was killing me,” he said. “I was just trying to push through it. I honestly can’t believe I made it through because it was hurting that bad. I was having such problems with it. I’m just glad it worked out.”
The top five contestants are Thompson, Harold, Leah Marlene, Nicolina and Huntergirl.
source: people.com
