mario vazquez

As we head into 'American Idol' season nine, it's time to look back -- and ahead -- at all the things that make up our favorite reality show, from A to Z.

---

A is for Auditions, which last for nearly six weeks until we get to the top 12 finalists of season 9. The show premieres Jan. 12, goes through auditions in Boston, Atlanta, Chicago, Orlando, Dallas, Los Angeles and Denver until we reach the Hollywood rounds on Feb. 9 and meet the top 12 male and top 12 female semifinalists at the end of the Feb. 17 episode. And yes, that's 24 semifinalists, the way the show did it during seasons 4 through 7, unlike last year's cumbersome top 36. Check out the schedule for 'American Idol' season 9 at Inside TV.

Remember Mario Vazquez? He dropped out of season four of American Idol just as he was about to grace the Top 12 (making room for Nikko Smith). He also seemed to drop off the face of the earth for a while, but he's back with a new album. In an interview with People magazine, Mario says that he is happy he left American Idol when he did because he would've had to do a bunch of crap he didn't want to do if he had stayed on the show. Instead, he's been recording an eccentric album that he says isn't as "safe" as they play it on American Idol. He describes the new album, which comes out on September 12, as a mixture of hip hop, pop, R&B, and reggae. He's currently performing songs on a tour of American malls, which he light-heartedly refers to as "The Tiffany Tour".