American Idol's move to a new night seems to have paid off. The ABC talent contest scored its biggest season debut in four years with 5.9M total viewers and a 0.54 share among adults 18-49, per Nielsen's live+same day ratings.

The long-running talent competition series “American Idol” returns Monday, Jan. 26, at 8 p.m. ET, as the 24th season kicks off with a two-hour episode on ABC. A new batch of aspiring singers will compete for a $250,000 prize and the title of America’s next music star, including Binghamton University student Jesse Findling.