American Idol to roll out real-time predictive NFTs in partnership with Theta Labs

American Idol will mint non-fungible tokens (NFTs) to commemorate its 20th season and two decades of airing in the U.S.

A press release unveiled this news on April 14, noting that the program seeks to issue the NFTs in the form of contestant-based trading cards. American Idol partnered with Theta Labs on this initiative.

According to the press release, collectors and the show’s fans will be able to access the American Idol NFT Card Pack on Theta network’s eco-friendly and low-cost marketplace, ThetaDrop. The pack goes for $99, and collectors will get an NFT card representing one of the top-14 contestants.

Theta Labs co-founder and CEO Mitch Liu said:

When you’re collaborating with internationally-renowned entertainment brands, it doesn’t get much bigger than American Idol.

He pointed out that the Theta-powered real-time predictive NFTs would enable fans to go beyond voting for the contestants to virtually becoming judges. Liu added that the NFTs would let them celebrate with their favorite contestants and collect rewards as they move through each qualifying round to the finals.

The ultimate prize is an NFT that is redeemable for a Hollywood ticket

As contestants get eliminated during the five-week season, collectors that hold a stipulated number of contestant cards will earn one-of-a-kind rewards.

The first week of rewards will start on April 25, and collectors that hold an NFT of one of the remaining contestants will win an American Idol 20th Anniversary Animated Logo NFT. The second week of rewards will see collectors with two NFTs of the remaining competitors win $300 worth of $TDROP, which will be deposited in their ThetaDrop accounts.

In the third week, collectors that own four NFTs of contestants that survived previous elimination rounds earn VIP Bronze benefits for their ThetaDrop accounts.

During the last episode of the season, the collector holding the NFT of the winner will get an exclusive Winner’s Ticket to Hollywood NFT. The user can redeem this NFT into a physical ticket to Hollywood, which American Idol will deliver to their home.

Commenting on American Idols’ foray into the NFT world, the series’ Showrunner and Executive Producer, Megan Michaels Wolflick, said,

At American Idol, we are constantly challenging ourselves to be on the forefront of innovation. With interactive NFT trading cards celebrating our 20th season, fans will be able to immerse themselves even more into the Idol experience, as they collect their favorite contestants’ cards, and follow their progress throughout the competition.

This news comes after American Idol judge and pop superstar Katy Perry partnered with Theta Labs to drop her NFTs in June 2021. This deal also saw her acquire a minority share in Theta Labs alongside talent agency Creative Artists Agency (CAA), one of Theta’s enterprise validators.