American Idol Return Date Revealed

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American Idol is baaack!

Jennifer Lopez, Steven Tyler, Randy Jackson and, of course, Ryan Seacrest are all back for Season 11 of the mega show. It will premiere on  Jan. 18 with a two-hour premiere, AccessHollywood reports. There will be a one-hour episode of auditions the following night.

If you are an AI junky, there will also a special episode on Jan 22, following the conclusion of the NFC Championship game.

Last season, JLO earned $12 million for her work on the signing competition. American Idol selected her and Tyler, Aeromith's front man, to join Jackson after popular judges Simon Cowell and Paula Abdul left the show.

After JLO inked her mega deal, the New York Post reported that Tyler wanted to redo his contract. The newspaper quoted a source who said that Tyler was “restless” since he is locked into a two-year deal. He earned $10 million last season and is reportedly set to earn the same in 2012. Another source told the Post that the “side effect” of having J.Lo back for at least another season is that “her fellow judges also want more money.”

American Idol executive producer Nigel Lythgoe announced earlier this year on Seacrest’s radio show that Lopez would be back for Season 11 of the talent competition after weeks of speculation and Lopez “being on the fence” about her return.

You can reach Alexandra Gratereaux at: Alexandra.Gratereaux@foxnewslatino.com or via Twitter: @GalexLatino

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