"American Idol" Returns January 16

"American Idol", the #1 show on television, is coming back on January 16 and FOX has released the schedule for its upcoming season.

The search for the next singing sensation begins on Tuesday, January 16 with a 2-hour premiere from Minneapolis.

The following night FOX will air yet another 2-hour episode with highlights from the audition in Seattle.

The following week, "American Idol" will be trimmed to its regular one-hour format and air on Tuesdays at 8pm and Wednesdays at 9pm.

The show will search for talent in Memphis, New York City, Birmingham, San Antonio and Los Angeles until February 6.

On Wednesday, February 7 FOX will air a special episode "The Best of the Rest".

The following week the competition moves on to Hollywood where only two audition episodes will be set this year.

That means the 24 semifinalists (12 girls and 12 boys) will be revealed the same week, on Wednesday February 14.

Over the next 3 weeks these contestants will be reduced to the final 12. That means boys will be singing on Tuesdays, girls will be singing on Wednesdays, and 1-hour results shows will be airing on Thursdays at 8pm (beginning on February 22 before The O.C. Series Finale).

The first week the shows will last two hours, the second week 90 minutes and the third week only one hour.

The top 12 finalists will be revealed on Thursday, March 8.

The battle of the finalists then begins on Tuesday, March 13 when all 12 finalists (6 boys and 6 girls) sing in a special 2-hour telecast.

The first finalist will be voted off the following day, Wednesday March 14 at 9pm when the results show gets trimmed to half-hour format.

The season finale is expected to air Wednesday, May 23. The exact date will be confirmed at a later point.

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TELEVISIONISTA.Net