The ninth season of American Idol premieres on January 12.

But that's just the first in a long line of key dates announced by Fox this week.

The show has eliminated last year's controversial Wild Card round and returned to the 24 semifinalist format, whereby female singers perform for three consecutive Tuesdays; while males take the stage on three consecutive Wednesdays.

Below, we list the schedule for season nine, leading up to the announcement of the 12 finalists:

• Tuesday, Jan. 12: Boston Auditions
• Wednesday, Jan. 13: Atlanta Auditions
• Tuesday, Jan. 19: Chicago Auditions
• Wednesday, Jan. 20: Orlando Auditions
• Tuesday, Jan. 26: Dallas Auditions
• Wednesday, Jan. 27: Los Angeles Auditions (*Wednesday episodes move to 9 p.m.)
• Tuesday, Feb. 2: Denver Auditions
• Wednesday, Feb. 3: “The Road to Hollywood” Auditions (*Ellen DeGeneres debuts)
• Tuesday, Feb. 9: Hollywood Round, Part 1
• Wednesday, Feb. 10: Hollywood Round, Part 2
• Tuesday, Feb. 16: Hollywood Round, Part 3
• Wednesday, Feb. 17: Hollywood Round, Part 4 (*Semifinalists Announced)
• Tuesday, Feb. 23: Top 12 Women Perform
• Wednesday, Feb. 24: Top 12 Men Perform
• Thursday, Feb. 25: First Results Show
• Tuesday, March 2: Top 10 Women Perform
• Wednesday, March 3: Top 10 Men Perform
• Thursday, March 4: Results Show
• Tuesday, March 9: Top 8 Women Perform
• Wednesday, March 10: Top 8 Men Perform
• Thursday, March 11: Results Show (*Top 12 revealed)

Matt Richenthal is the Editor in Chief of TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter and on Google+.