The premiere of the ninth season of American Idol on Fox started off last January 12 up to 26 May 2010. The fourth judge Paula Abdul was replaced by Ellen DeGeneres. Idol Gives eventually returns on 21 April 2010, as the top seven of the shows turns up.

The top 24 Semi- finals format is like the fourth and seventh seasons. Simon also announced that it will be his last season in American Idol, meanwhile Ellen Degeneres also left American Idol after Season 9. This was the season when the finalists had never been in the bottom 2 or 3, and this was also the season when a male contestant won. The female and male contestants had two different debut single, shown during their finale.