‘American Idol’ Fans Weigh in on ‘Previously Recorded’ Alert Appearing During Disney Aulani Episodes

While American Idol has never aired live episodes until the very end, typically when it comes time for the Top 24, some viewers were a little thrown off by a message that kept popping up during Sunday’s episode and in various tweets throughout the evening. The competition moved its set to Disney’s Aulani resort in Hawaii as the Top 40 competed for spots in the next round. Following this round, the series’ future will likely find itself delayed when it comes to film the live shows.

As seen in the prior episode during the promotional segment for the upcoming airing, ABC made it pretty clear that all shots of the contestants on the island were previously recorded. The message was seen throughout the episode and after an assortment of tweets on the show’s official account and even in some of the judges’ posts, such as Bobby Bones. The reason for ABC’s decision to attach the note was due to the coronavirus pandemic. It also had to do with Aulani currently being shut down along with all of Disney’s parks and resorts in the states.

One user, along with a few others, were a bit in a dark that this round was not live, “With all due respect, why are the Disney Aulani episodes of #AmericanIdol previously recorded?”

“[American Idol] must be recorded a long time ago bc I’m wondering how all these people are so close together with [COVID-19] going around,” another confused viewer wrote.

Other viewers were a bit deterred at the constant reminder of the episode being previously recorded.

“It said ‘Previously recorded’,” the tweet read. “We know, but thanks! Interesting!”

American Idol has yet to make any official announcement as to what their contingency plan is if the live episodes are to be delayed. With President Donald Trump pushing the social distancing plan through April 30, it seems inevitable that the singing competition will be impacted, as will many other television shows.

American Idol will not air on Monday on ABC at 8 p.m. ET as originally scheduled. The second half of the Hawaii Round wraps up the following Sunday on April 5.

Photo Credit: ABC/Karen Neal