Hot on the heels of its successful series debut on The ABC Television Network, “American Idol” is back and searching coast-to-coast for the next big superstar. In anticipation of the upcoming season, “Idol” is teaming up with “The 52nd Annual CMA Awards,” Country Music’s Biggest Night™, to give America the chance to vote one lucky singer through to Hollywood ahead of the Season 2 premiere. “The 52nd Annual CMA Awards” will air live from Nashville, WEDNESDAY, NOV. 14 (8:00-11:00 p.m. EST), on ABC.

As a part of the “American Idol CMA Contest,” starting today, MONDAY, OCT. 8 (5:00 p.m. EDT), and running through SUNDAY, OCT. 14 (11:00 p.m. EDT), talented singers from across the country are encouraged to post a video of themselves on Instagram covering one of the songs listed below by this year’s CMA Awards nominated artists using the official hashtag #IdolCMAContest. Upon conclusion of the submission window, three lucky finalists will be selected by “American Idol” executive producers and will fly to Nashville in November, where they will record a country cover. That performance will then be shown during the broadcast of “The 52nd Annual CMA Awards,” after which viewers will have the opportunity to vote their favorite singer through to Hollywood by visiting www.americanidol.com/vote. The winner will be announced live on ABC’s “Good Morning America” on FRIDAY, NOV. 16.

To enter on Instagram, you must be at least 15 years old and otherwise meet the eligibility requirements for “American Idol.” Please visit american-idol/rules for official contest rules, including full details on eligibility requirements, how to enter, prize descriptions and limitations. No purchase is necessary to enter.

IdolCMAContest cover songs include the following:

“Cry Pretty” by Carrie Underwood
“Different for Girls” by Dierks Bentley
“Blue Ain’t Your Color” by Keith Urban
“Love Me Like You Mean it” by Kelsea Ballerini
“Beautiful Crazy” by Luke Combs
“My Church” by Maren Morris
“Tin Man” by Miranda Lambert
“Die a Happy Man” by Thomas Rhett

“American Idol” is returning to The ABC Television Network for the 2018-2019 season, after first making its return to airwaves as the No. 1 reality show launch for its inaugural season on the network during the 2017-2018 season. Helping to find the next singing sensation are music industry legends and all-star judges Luke Bryan, Katy Perry and Lionel Richie. Emmy®-winning producer Ryan Seacrest will also return as host. The beloved singing competition series recently completed its open call Bus Tour auditions, visiting 24 cities across the country in a nationwide search for the next superstar. Judge auditions are currently underway in select cities across the country.

“American Idol” is produced by Fremantle and Industrial Media’s 19 Entertainment. Executive producers include Fremantle’s Trish Kinane, also serving as showrunner, and Megan Wolflick. Fremantle distributes the series worldwide.

About ABC Entertainment
ABC Entertainment airs compelling programming across all day parts, including the hit series “The Good Doctor” and the return of “American Idol”; in addition to upcoming new dramas “A Million Little Things” and “The Rookie,” starring Nathan Fillion; new comedies “The Kids Are Alright” and “Single Parents”; and the new prime-time talk show, “The Alec Baldwin Show.” The ABC Television Network is also home to the groundbreaking dramas “How to Get Away with Murder” and “Grey’s Anatomy”; the Emmy Award-winning “Modern Family” and trailblazing comedy favorites “black-ish,” “American Housewife,” “Fresh Off the Boat,” “The Goldbergs,” “Speechless” and midseason breakout, “Splitting Up Together”; hit game shows “The $100,000 Pyramid,” “Celebrity Family Feud,” “Match Game” and “To Tell the Truth”; reality phenomenon “Shark Tank,” iconic “The Bachelor” franchise, long-running hits “Dancing with the Stars” and “America’s Funniest Home Videos”; “General Hospital,” which has aired for over 50 years on the network; and late-night talk show “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” The network also boasts some of television’s most prestigious awards shows, including “The Oscars®,” “The CMA Awards” and “The American Music Awards.”

ABC’s multiplatform business initiative also allows viewers to watch current episodes of their favorite ABC shows anytime, anywhere on ABC.com and the ABC app for desktop, smartphone, tablet or connected TV devices.

About Fremantle
Fremantle is one of the largest and most successful creators, producers and distributors of scripted and unscripted content in the world. A global entertainment powerhouse, Fremantle has an outstanding international network of production teams, companies and labels in over 30 countries. Fremantle produces in excess of 12,000 hours of original programming, roll out more than 60 formats and air 450 programs a year worldwide. The group distributes over 20,000 hours of content in more than 200 territories. Fremantle is also a world leader in digital and branded entertainment, with more than 300 million subscribers across 1,400 social channels and over 100 billion views across all platforms.

Fremantle is part of RTL Group, a global leader across broadcast, content and digital, itself a division of the international media giant Bertelsmann.

About Industrial Media’s 19 Entertainment
Industrial Media was launched with the reorganization of the CORE Media Group and the acquisition of The Intellectual Property Corporation and its management team, and creates quality programming for linear television and digital platforms. Through its ownership interests in well-established industry leaders including Sharp Entertainment, IPC, B-17 Entertainment and its newly formed digital studio Thumb Candy, the company also produces additional multi-platform programming of various genres for audiences nationwide. Through Industrial Media’s 19 Entertainment, it co-produces “American Idol” for ABC and “So You Think You Can Dance “which is currently on FOX for a 15th season. Other recent television series under the Industrial Media umbrella include “Vet Gone Wild” for Animal Planet, “The Wall” for NBC and Sharp Entertainment’s “90 Day Fiancé” franchise for TLC. Additionally, Industrial Media’s 19 Recordings has been a part of the successful music careers of platinum artists Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, Daughtry, Phillip Phillips, Lauren Alaina and recent American Idol winner Maddie Poppe, just to name a few. For more details, visit www.industrial-media.com.

About the CMA Awards
The first “CMA Awards Banquet and Show” was held in 1967. The following year, the CMA Awards was broadcast for the first time – making it the longest-running, annual music awards program on network television. The CMA Awards have aired on ABC since 2006. ABC is the network home of the CMA Awards and CMA’s other two television properties, “CMA Fest” and “CMA Country Christmas.”