American Idol 11 Schedule Through March

By On 01/03/2012 · 34 Comments · In American Idol, American Idol 11

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Here’s the American Idol 11 schedule through March, when the first week of finals begin.  There are no changes to the format from last season.

There are 8 audition episodes (including a special episode to air after the NFC Championship game on Sunday January 22).  Three Hollywood Episodes,  The Las Vegas Performance challenge (Top 60 sing 50s songs, reportedly) and the semi-finalists reveal.

The semi-finals will once again be sudden death, with the Top 24(?) performing over two nights.  The second semi-final show will be a special broadcast to celebrate American Idol’s 4ooth show.

The finalists will be revealed, including Judges’ Wildcards on Thursday March 1.

The finalists will perform for the first time on Tuesday, March 7, with the results show airing the second night on March 8.

Read the press release below:

The incredible journey is about to begin as American Idol, America’s No. 1 show, returns for its remarkable 11th season. Featuring host Ryan Seacrest and returning judges Randy Jackson, Jennifer Lopez, and Steven Tyler, American Idol is set to return with a two-night event showcasing the nation’s most extraordinary talent Wednesday, Jan. 18 8/7c and Thursday, Jan. 19 8/7c. Auditions will continue with a special, extended primetime broadcast of AMERICAN IDOL Sunday, Jan. 22 (10:00-11:00 PM ET/7:00-8:00 PM PT), following the NFC Championship Game on FOX.

The show’s judges – Jackson, Lopez and Tyler – traveled to Savannah, Aspen, Galveston, Pittsburgh, Portland, San Diego and St. Louis in search of contestants with the raw talent and potential to become the next American Idol. Auditions continue on Wednesday, Jan. 25 8/7c and Thursday, Jan. 26 8/7c; Wednesday, Feb. 1 8/7c and Thursday, Feb. 2 8/7c; and Wednesday, Feb. 8 8/7c on FOX.

The contestants who impress the judges will head to Hollywood and be put to the ultimate test during the “Hollywood Rounds,” airing Thursday, Feb. 9 8/7c; Wednesday, Feb. 15 8/7c; and Thursday, Feb. 16 8/7c.

On Wednesday, Feb. 22 8/7c, those who make it through Hollywood must then take the “Performance Challenge,” where they face the judges one last time before the top male and top female semifinalists are revealed on Thursday, Feb. 23 8/7c.

The judges have their say after every performance, but it’s the viewing public that determines who will advance to the next round of the competition and who will go home. In the milestone 400th episode, airing on a special night, Tuesday, Feb. 28 8/7c, the first group of semifinalists will take the stage to sing for America’s votes.

The following night, Wednesday, Feb. 29 8/7c, the remaining semifinalists will perform. The competition takes an intense turn on the two-hour LIVE results show Thursday, March 1 8/7c as America’s vote reveals the first set of finalists, then those that remain will have one last chance to perform for the judges who will round out the 2012 American Idol finalists with their wild card picks.

The following week, the competition heats up when the finalists take the stage on Wednesday, March 7 8/7c. One finalist’s journey will end as America’s vote is revealed on Thursday, March 8 8/7c.

Wednesday, Jan. 18 (8:00-10:00 PM)           Season Premiere, Part 1 – Savannah, GA
Thursday, Jan. 19 (8:00-9:00 PM)                 Season Premiere, Part 2 – Pittsburgh, PA
Sunday, Jan. 22  (10-11PM ET/7-8 PM PT)  San Diego Auditions (Special Broadcast)
Wednesday, Jan. 25 (8:00-9:00 PM)             Aspen Auditions
Thursday, Jan. 26 (8:00-9:00 PM)                 Galveston Auditions
Wednesday, Feb. 1 (8:00-9:00 PM)               Portland Auditions
Thursday, Feb. 2 (8:00-9:00 PM)                   St. Louis Auditions
Wednesday, Feb. 8 (8:00-9:00 PM)               Hollywood Round, Part 1
Thursday, Feb. 9 (8:00-9:00 PM)                   Hollywood Round, Part 2
Wednesday, Feb. 15 (8:00-10:00 PM)          Hollywood Round, Part 3
Thursday, Feb. 16 (8:00-9:00 PM)                Performance Challenge
Wednesday, Feb. 22 (8:00-10:00 PM)           Semifinalists Announced Part 1
Thursday, Feb. 23 (8:00-9:00 PM)                 Semifinalists Announced Part 2
Tuesday, Feb. 28 (8:00-10:00 PM)                Semifinalists Perform
Wednesday, Feb. 29 (8:00-10:00 PM)           Semifinalists Perform
Thursday, March 1 (8:00-10:00 PM)              Results Show; Finalists Announced & Judges’ Wild Card Picks Revealed (ET live/PT tape-delayed)
Wednesday, March 7 (8:00-10:00 PM)          Finalists Perform
Thursday, March 8 (8:00-9:00 PM)                Results Show; First Elimination (ET live/PT tape-delayed)


 
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  • Karen C

    The thing though with the 3 weeks of semifinals, in the past there have been contestants that I didn’t really like at first that I ended up liking by the time they got through semifinals.  I was never bored, especially if there were good performances.

  • Anonymous

    I LOVE the idea of THREE Hollywood round episodes.

  • chessguy99

    Nine hours of auditions? At least their is only one two hour show, so it could be more bearable. Five hours of HW will be nice, if they don’t overfill it with drama pieces. 

    As for the 400th episode, don’t expect much. There is still a semi-final performance round with what should be twelve performances. I’m surprised they didn’t manipulate the schedule to make the result show for semi-final week be the 400th. They could have made that something special with the intertwining of Idol history and the filling of this season’s Top 12.

  • http://twitter.com/blkeener Brittany Keener

    Eep! I want to go to this taping!

  • Anonymous

    I hope they come up with a better top 12 than last season. The only one I liked last year was Hayley. Just found it all so bland and boring last year, so much so that I didn’t care if I missed any episodes, and conciously turned off before the final.

  • Kylee

    I personally thought the top 12 of last season was one of the best ones ever. Usually in other seasons there are a few contestants in the top 12 who are absolutely terrible. I didn’t see that for S10.

  • Anonymous

    I’m hopeful.  I like the show and how they do their thing.  

  • http://twitter.com/KariannHart Kariann Hart

    There was a TOP 13 but people often forget about Ashton.  I thought the TOP 13 were good last year.  However, personality wise, my heart belongs to Season 7.  For me, that was the best season ever (Season 5 runner-up).

    I hope there won’t be a whole lot of weirdos and funny auditions.  I want to see the audition of every person that makes it to the TOP 40.  I doubt that Nigel would do that for us, though.

  • happyhexer

    Wow.  Just realized I’ve lived in or visited all of the audition cities except Savannah and Aspen.

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