Fox has confirmed that this season of American Idol will be given a two-hour send-off live from the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood.

Although the process of whittling down the top 12 contestants has yet to begin after the withdrawal of a contestant over the weekend, the network has confirmed that the eventual two finalists will battle it out for the Idol title over two nights during the May ratings sweep.

Current airdates are: Tuesday, May 24 8-9pm live ET, tape delayed PT; and Wednesday, May 25 8-10pm, again live in the east and tape delayed in the west.