Apple announced today that it has partnered with Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox Interactive Media, 19 Entertainment, and FremantleMedia to allow customers to purchase performances from the Top 24 contestants on the hit series ‘American Idol’.

Music performances will be available for .99 cents a song, and viewers will be able to purchase the full video of Top 12 finalist performances for $1.99, starting March 11. In addition, beginning today, fans can pre-order performances of their favorite contestants from the iTunes Store, which will be automatically downloaded the day after the show airs.

“We’ve created a special section on the iTunes Store for ‘Idol’ fans with an incredible array of music and video performances from television’s most popular show,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s vice president of iTunes. “We think ‘American Idol’ viewers are going to love the ability to purchase and download ‘Idol’ performances from iTunes.”

Fans can still watch free streaming performances on American Idol.com – which will now have direct links to the iTunes store for those interested in purchasing their favorites.