The eleventh season of American Idol

American Idol

American Idol, titled American Idol: The Search for a Superstar for the first season, is a reality television singing competition created by Simon Fuller and produced by FremantleMedia North America and 19 Entertainment...

 is scheduled to premiere on Fox

Fox Broadcasting Company

Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...

 on Sunday, January 22, 2012 following the 2011–12 NFL playoffs

2011–12 NFL playoffs

The 2011-12 NFL playoffs following the 2011 regular season will began on January 7, 2012, and end with Super Bowl XLVI on February 5 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana....

. The show will air on Wednesdays and Thursdays at 8:00 PM/7:00 Central.

Judges and host

Ryan Seacrest

Ryan Seacrest

Ryan John Seacrest is an American radio personality, television host, network producer and voice actor. He is the host of On Air with Ryan Seacrest, a nationally syndicated Top 40 radio show that airs on KIIS-FM in Los Angeles and throughout the United States and Canada on Premiere Radio Networks,...

 has been confirmed to return as host. Fox Broadcasting Company

Fox Broadcasting Company

Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...

 confirmed on June 29, 2011 that Randy Jackson

Randy Jackson

Randall Darius "Randy" Jackson is an American bassist, singer, record producer, music manager, A&R executive, entrepreneur, and television personality. He is best known as a judge on American Idol and executive producer for MTV's America's Best Dance Crew...

 and Steven Tyler

Steven Tyler

Steven Tyler is an American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist, best known as the frontman and lead singer of the Boston-based rock band Aerosmith, in which he also plays the harmonica, and occasional piano and percussion. He is known as the "Demon of Screamin'", due to his high screams...

 will return as judges for Idol's eleventh season. Jennifer Lopez

Jennifer Lopez

Jennifer Lynn Lopez is an American actress, singer, record producer, dancer, television personality, and fashion designer. Lopez began her career as a dancer on the television comedy program In Living Color. Subsequently venturing into acting, she gained recognition in the 1995 action-thriller...

 was confirmed to return on August 10, 2011.

Regional auditions

Auditions took place in the following cities:

Audition City	Date	Venue	Callback date	Callback venue
St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...	June 28, 2011	Scottrade Center Scottrade Center Scottrade Center is a 19,150 seat arena located in downtown St. Louis, Missouri, opened in 1994. It is the home of the St...	September 2-3, 2011	Hilton St. Louis at the Ballpark
Portland, Oregon Portland, Oregon Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...	July 2, 2011	Rose Garden	October 1-2, 2011	Red Lion Hotel
San Diego, California California California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...	July 8, 2011	Petco Park PETCO Park Petco Park is an open-air ballpark in downtown San Diego, California, USA. It opened in 2004, replacing Qualcomm Stadium as the home park of Major League Baseball's San Diego Padres. Before then, the Padres shared Qualcomm Stadium with the NFL's San Diego Chargers...	October 9-10, 2011	USS Midway aircraft carrier USS Midway (CV-41) USS Midway was an aircraft carrier of the United States Navy, the lead ship of her class, and the first to be commissioned after the end of World War II...
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pennsylvania The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...	July 15, 2011	Heinz Field Heinz Field Heinz Field is a stadium located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It primarily serves as the home to the Pittsburgh Steelers and University of Pittsburgh Panthers American football teams, members of the National Football League and National Collegiate Athletic Association respectively...	September 28-29, 2011	David L. Lawrence Convention Center David L. Lawrence Convention Center The David L. Lawrence Convention Center is a convention, conference and exhibition building in downtown Pittsburgh in the U.S. commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The initial David L...
North Charleston, South Carolina North Charleston, South Carolina North Charleston is the 3rd largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina with incorporated areas in Berkeley, Charleston, and Dorchester counties. On June 12, 1972 the city of North Charleston incorporated and was the 9th largest city in South Carolina. According to the 2010 Census, North...	July 22, 2011	North Charleston Coliseum North Charleston Coliseum The North Charleston Coliseum is a 14,000-seat multi-purpose arena in North Charleston, South Carolina. It is part of the North Charleston Convention Center Complex, which also includes a Performing Arts Center, and is owned by the City of North Charleston and managed by SMG...	August 17-18, 2011	Hyatt Regency, Savannah, Georgia Savannah, Georgia Savannah is the largest city and the county seat of Chatham County, in the U.S. state of Georgia. Established in 1733, the city of Savannah was the colonial capital of the Province of Georgia and later the first state capital of Georgia. Today Savannah is an industrial center and an important...
Denver, Colorado Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...	July 29, 2011	Invesco Field	October 5-6, 2011	Doerr-Hosier Center, Aspen Aspen, Colorado The City of Aspen is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and the most populous city of Pitkin County, Colorado, United States. The United States Census Bureau estimates that the city population was 5,804 in 2005...
Houston, Texas Texas Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...	August 26, 2011	Reliant Arena Reliant Arena The Reliant Arena, formerly the "Astroarena", is a 350,000 square feet sports center in Reliant Park, in Houston, Texas, USA. It is one of the state's major arenas and convention centers. Reliant became the home of the Women's National Basketball Association's Houston Comets for what proved to...	August 30-31, 2011	Galveston Island Convention Center
East Rutherford, New Jersey East Rutherford, New Jersey East Rutherford is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 8,913. It is an inner-ring suburb of New York City, located west of Midtown Manhattan....	September 22, 2011	IZOD Center	September 24-25, 2011