A few weeks ago, American Idol announced its ninth season would premiere on January 12.

But Fox has now gone a few steps further and released a few important dates for the show. Along with the elimination of the Wild Card round, the competition will also return to its 24 semifinalist format.

Below, we've listed the series' upcoming schedule:

• Tuesday, Jan. 12: Boston Auditions
• Wednesday, Jan. 13: Atlanta Auditions
• Tuesday, Jan. 19: Chicago Auditions
• Wednesday, Jan. 20 Orlando Auditions Episode
• Tuesday, Jan. 26: Dallas Auditions
• Wednesday, Jan. 27: Los Angeles Auditions
• 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 (Finalists revealed)

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