i <3 american idol season 9

The juggernaut is back. American Idol premieres tonight with a 2 hour episode starting at 8pm.

AI will be different this year. During the audition episodes, there will be guests judges (Victoria Beckham, Mary J. Blige, Kristin Chenoweth, Neil Patrick Harris, Joe Jonas, Avril Lavigne, Katy Perry and Shania Twain), and no Paula Abdul.

Starting the Hollywood week episodes, Ellen DeGeneres will officially be sitting in Abdul's seat.


However, 2011 American Idol will be different again. Yesterday, Simon Cowell told reporters at the TV Critics Association winter press tour: "There's been a lot of speculation [about my future], partly because we didn't have an agreement. We reached an agreement formally about half past 11 this morning. Where we have come to is that The X Factor will launch in America in 2011, with me judging the show and executive producing the show, and because of that, this will be my last season on American Idol this year."

Read more about the story that E! Online posted.

Fans have been asking: "Who will replace him?" "Will the show fail without him?" "Will Ellen be the new face of AI?"

We won't know until 2011, but other TV networks must be happy this juggernaut will start losing its power.


Here's a schedule of this year's American Idol if you want to decide when you want to start watching:
Tue Jan. 12 – Two-hour premiere with Auditions in Boston
Wed Jan. 13 – Auditions in Atlanta (note extended run time 8:00 to 9:15 PM ET)
Tue Jan. 19 – Auditions in Chicago (8:00 to 9:00 PM ET)
Wed Jan. 20 – Auditions in Orlando (8:00 to 9:00 PM ET)
Tue Jan. 26 – Auditions in Dallas (8:00 to 9:00 PM ET)
Wed Jan. 27 – Auditions in Los Angles (note time change: 9:00 to 10:00 PM ET)
Tue Feb. 2 – Auditions in Denver (8:00 to 9:00 PM ET)
Wed Feb. 3 – “The Road To Hollywood” (9:00 to 10:00 PM ET)
Tue Feb. 9 – Hollywood Round, Part 1 (8:00 to 9:00 PM ET)
Wed Feb 10 – Hollywood Round, Part 2 (9:00 to 10:00 PM ET)
Tue Feb. 16 – Hollywood Round, Part 3 (8:00 to 9:00 PM ET)
Wed Feb. 17 – Hollywood Round, Part 4 / Top 24 Semifinalists Announced (9:00 to 10:00 PM ET)
Note: Voting rounds begin!
Tue Feb. 23 – Top 12 Female Semifinalists Perform (8:00 to 10:00 PM ET)
Wed Feb. 24 – Top 12 Male Semifinalists Perform (8:00 to 10:00 PM ET)
Thu Feb. 25 – First Results Show / Two Male and Two Female Contestants Eliminated (8:00 to 9:00 PM ET)
Tue Mar. 2 – Top 10 Female Semifinalists Perform (8:00 to 10:00 PM ET)
Wed Mar. 3 – Top 10 Male Semifinalists Perform (8:00 to 10:00 PM ET)
Thu Mar. 4 – Results Show / Two Male and Two Female Contestants Eliminated (8:00 to 9:00 PM ET)
Tue Mar. 9 – Top 8 Female Semifinalists Perform (8:00 to 10:00 PM ET)
Wed Mar. 10 – Top 8 Male Semifinalists Perform (8:00 to 10:00 PM ET)
Thu Mar. 11 – Results Show / Two Male and Two Female Contestants Eliminated / Finalists Revealed (8:00 to 9:00 PM ET)
Tue Mar. 16 – Top 12 Finalists Perform (8:00 to 10:00 PM ET)
Wed Mar. 17 – Results Show / One Contestant Eliminated (note time change 9:00 to 10:00 PM ET)
and so on.....



TV Schedule - Tuesday, 1/12
8:00 American Idol (Season 9 2-hr Premiere) (FOX)
8:00 The Biggest Loser (2 hr) (NBC)
8:00 NCIS (CBS)
8:30 Better Off Ted (ABC)
9:00 NCIS: Los Angeles (CBS)
9:00 One Big Happy Family (TLC)
9:30 Better Off Ted (ABC)
9:30 One Big Happy Family (TLC)
10:00 The Forgotten (ABC)
10:00 The Good Wife (CBS)
10:00 The Jay Leno Show (NBC) <Sandra Bullock>
10:00 The Little Couple (TLC)
10:00 Southland (1st Season Premiere) (TNT)