Idol Chatter & Voice Views

We’re now just a little more than a week away from the start of American Idol season nine.

For those who don’t want to miss a minute of the show, I’ve listed the schedule through the first round of the finals below (that’s as much as American Idol has announced to date).

The schedule confirms …

* Idol has ditched the format that led to 36 semifinalists last year. Hooray!

* Idol has ditched the wild card round, which means all 12 finalists will be selected by viewers. Hooray!

* Idol will return to the format that forces a six-six split between male and female contestants. Hmm … but the result can’t be worse than last year when we wound up with eight guys in the finals, six of whom wanted to sing the same kind of music.

What we don’t know yet …

* Will Idol retain the judges’ mansion episode, including sing-offs among contestants fighting for a spot in the semifinals?

* Will Idol retain the judges’ save, which helped spice up this year’s results shows once the finals began.

Audition episodes begin when the show returns to FOX at 8 p.m. Jan. 12 and Jan. 13.

We’ll be treated to a host of guest judges through the early shows — Victoria Beckham, Mary J. Blige, Kristin Chenoweth, Neil Patrick Harris, Joe Jonas (are you kidding me?), Avril Lavigne, Katy Perry and Shania Twain.

New judge Ellen DeGeneres arrives with the Hollywood Week episodes, which begin Feb. 9 once the audition shows come to a merciful end.

Now, for the schedule …

Tuesday, Jan. 12, 8 p.m., Boston auditions;

Wednesday, Jan. 13, 8 p.m., Atlanta auditions;

Tuesday, Jan. 19, 8 p.m., Chicago auditions;

Wednesday, Jan. 20, 8 p.m., Orlando auditions;

Tuesday, Jan. 26, 8 p.m., Dallas auditions;

Wednesday, Jan. 27, 9 p.m., Los Angeles auditions;

Tuesday, Feb. 2, 8 p.m., Denver auditions;

Wednesday, Feb. 3, 9 p.m., �The Road to Hollywood�

Tuesday, Feb. 9, 8 p.m., Hollywood Round, Part 1

Wednesday, Feb. 10, 9 p.m., Hollywood Round, Part 2

Tuesday, Feb. 16, 8 p.m., Hollywood Round, Part 3

Wednesday, Feb. 17, 9 p.m., Hollywood Round, Part 4 � Top 24 Semifinalists Announced

Tuesday, Feb. 23, 8 p.m., Top 12 Female Semifinalists Perform

Wednesday, Feb. 24, 8 p.m., Top 12 Male Semifinalists Perform

Thursday, Feb. 25, 8 p.m., First Results Show � Two Male and Two Female Contestants Eliminated

Tuesday, March 2, 8 p.m., Top 10 Female Semifinalists Perform

Wednesday, March 3, 8 p.m., Top 10 Male Semifinalists Perform

Thursday, March 4, 8 p.m., Results Show � Two Male and Two Female Contestants Eliminated

Tuesday, March 9, 8 p.m., Top 8 Female Semifinalists Perform

Wednesday, March 10, 9 p.m., Top 8 Male Semifinalists Perform

Thursday, March 11, 8 p.m., Results Show � Two Male and Two Female Contestants Eliminated; Finalists Revealed

Tuesday, March 16, 8 p.m., Finalists Perform

Wednesday, March 17, 9 p.m., Results Show � One Contestant Eliminated