Music

American Idol Premiere Date Announced

ABC/Eric Liebowitz
By Emily Surpless/

Who's ready for the all-new American Idol?

During his talk show Live with Kelly and Ryan on Monday, Nov. 6, 2017, host Ryan Seacrest announced that the revival of the popular singing competition series has an official premiere date attached: Sunday, March 11, 2018. The show will air at 8 p.m. on ABC.

According to E! News, the premiere episode will be two hours and will see the show's brand new judges—Katy Perry, Luke Bryan, and Lionel Richie—critiquing hopeful contestants across the country. Seacrest will return as the series' host.

Auditions for American Idol first began in August, starting in Portland, Ore. The crew made 23 stops around the United States in total. However, fans didn't have to audition in person—they could have auditioned online using the hashtag #TheNextIdol. E! News notes that auditions were also held via a livestream platform.

American Idol first aired on Fox back in 2002—with the first season celebrating Kelly Clarkson as the first-ever winner of the series. The show would go on for a total of 15 seasons, ending in April 2016. However, it was quickly picked back up by a different network, ABC, who will be broadcasting the revival in March.

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