American Idols Live! Tour 2008
American Idols Live! Tour 2008 was a summer concert tour in the United States and Canada that featured the top 10 contestants of the seventh season of American Idol, which aired in 2008. This tour followed in the tradition of other American Idol summer tours following the completion of the season in May. The 53-date tour which covered 49 cities started on July 1 and ended on September 13.[1]
| Tour by American Idol | |
 Back – Ramiele Malubay, David Archuleta Middle – Kristy Lee Cook, Carly Smithson, David Cook, Jason Castro, Syesha Mercado, Michael Johns | |
| Start date | July 1, 2008 |
|---|---|
| End date | September 13, 2008 |
| No. of shows | 53 (52 U.S., 1 Canada) |
| Box office | US$29.9 million |
| American Idol concert chronology | |
The tour was sponsored by Kellogg's Pop-Tarts and Guitar Hero.[2]
Performers
| David Cook (winner) | David Archuleta (runner-up) |
| Syesha Mercado (3rd Place) | Jason Castro (4th place) |
| Brooke White (5th place) | Carly Smithson (6th place) |
| Kristy Lee Cook (7th place) | Michael Johns (8th place) |
| Ramiele Malubay (9th place) | Chikezie (10th place) |
Show overview
In a departure from previous tours, where the shows consisted of many duets and/or group performances, shows from this tour were crafted as a series of mini-concerts for each contestant because of the diverse talent working in different genres.[3] Each performer performed their own set of songs – three songs for the tenth-place finisher Chikezie, increasing up to five songs for the winner, David Cook. Each of the two segments of the show ended with a group number.
Most of the finalists on the tour chose to reprise at least one song they had previously done on American Idol, apart from Ramiele, who selected a whole new set of songs. Others chose songs they had wanted to perform on the TV shows but were unable to, or performed but not shown, such as David Cook's "My Hero" (Foo Fighters), and Jason Castro's "Crazy" (Gnarls Barkley).
The participants of the tour themselves had planned on an ensemble performance as revealed by David Cook on EW.com's Idolatry, where the possibility of a live collaboration of "Barracuda" featuring himself on guitar, Jason Castro on drums and Carly Smithson on vocals was mooted.[4] The suggestion was however rejected by Idol tour producers.[5]
Set list
- Chikezie: "I Believe to My Soul" (Donny Hathaway), "Caught Up" (Usher), "So High" (John Legend)
- Ramiele Malubay: "I Want You Back" (The Jackson Five), "Love Will Lead You Back" (Taylor Dayne), "If I Never See Your Face Again" (Maroon 5 featuring Rihanna)
- Michael Johns: "We Will Rock You"/"We Are the Champions" (Queen), "It's All Wrong, But It's All Right" (Dolly Parton), "Dream On" (Aerosmith)
- Kristy Lee Cook: "Squeezin' the Love Outta You" (Redmon and Vale), "God Bless the USA" (Lee Greenwood), "Cowgirls" (Kerry Harvick).
- Carly Smithson: "Bring Me to Life" (Evanescence), "Crazy on You" (Heart), "I Drove All Night" (Cyndi Lauper)
- Brooke White: "Let It Be" (The Beatles), "1234" (Feist), "Yellow" (Coldplay)
- 10th – 5th place contestants: "Pride (In the Name of Love)" (U2)
Intermission
- Jason Castro: "Over the Rainbow" (Israel Kamakawiwo'ole), "Crazy" (Gnarls Barkley), "Daydream" (The Lovin' Spoonful)
- Syesha Mercado: "Umbrella" (Rihanna), "If I Ain't Got You" (Alicia Keys), "Listen" (Beyoncé)
- David Archuleta: "Angels" (Robbie Williams), "Apologize" (OneRepublic), "Stand by Me" (Ben E. King)/"Beautiful Girls" (Sean Kingston), "When You Say You Love Me" (Josh Groban)
- David Cook: "Hello" (Lionel Richie), "The Time of My Life" (David Cook), "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" (Aerosmith), "My Hero" (Foo Fighters), "Billie Jean" (Michael Jackson/Chris Cornell)
- All 10 contestants: "Don't Stop the Music" (Rihanna)
Additional notes
- Kristy Lee Cook sang "Anyway" (Martina McBride) in place of "God Bless the USA" in the Toronto show.
- Michael Johns did a short a cappella version of "Light My Fire" on the anniversary of Jim Morrison's death at the Fresno show.
- David Cook and Michael Johns did a short dance together, different for each show, at the final group song for most of the shows. The producers stopped their dance performance for a few shows, but relented due to fans' demand.
- During the intermission, a video of the Top 10 performing "We're An American Idol Band" in 70s outfit was shown as part of Guitar Hero World Tour rockumentary, and a Guitar Hero contest for the some members of audience was held.[6]
Tour dates
| Date | City | Country | Venue | Attendance[7] | Gross | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sales | Capacity | Percentage | |||||
| July 1, 2008 | Glendale | United States | Jobing.com Arena | 10,277 | 10,938 | 94.0% | $630,137 |
| July 2, 2008 | San Diego | San Diego Sports Arena | 8,602 | 10,109 | 85.1% | $535,103 | |
| July 3, 2008 | Fresno | Save Mart Center | 6,494 | 10,723 | 60.6% | $420,698 | |
| July 5, 2008 | Paradise | Thomas & Mack Center | 5,925 | 7,661 | 77.3% | $374,795 | |
| July 7, 2008 | Los Angeles | Staples Center | 11,739 | 12,358 | 95.0% | $709,598 | |
| July 8, 2008 | San Jose | HP Pavilion at San Jose | 12,095 | 12,095 | 100% | $718,721 | |
| July 9, 2008 | Sacramento | ARCO Arena | 11,269 | 12,246 | 92.0% | $671,592 | |
| July 11, 2008 | Portland | Rose Garden | 8,451 | 86% | $500,592 | ||
| July 12, 2008 | Tacoma | Tacoma Dome | 8,780 | 10,786 | 81.4% | $544,820 | |
| July 14, 2008 | West Valley City | E Center | 17,359 | 19,172 | 91.0% | $1,059,660 | |
| July 15, 2008 | |||||||
| July 18, 2008 | St. Louis | Scottrade Center | 9,719 | 12,123 | 80.2% | $576,318 | |
| July 19, 2008 | Rosemont | Allstate Arena | 13,101 | 13,101 | 100% | $773,060 | |
| July 20, 2008 | Columbus | Schottenstein Center | 9,349 | 12,636 | 74.0% | $560,391 | |
| July 22, 2008 | Indianapolis | Conseco Fieldhouse | 6,570 | 8,117 | 80.9% | $421,506 | |
| July 23, 2008 | Cincinnati | U.S. Bank Arena | 6,343 | 10,730 | 59.1% | $409,676 | |
| July 24, 2008 | Detroit | Joe Louis Arena | 8,672 | 10,908 | 79.5% | $526,887 | |
| July 26, 2008 | Toronto | Canada | Air Canada Centre | 12,188 | 13,694 | 87.4% | $733,968 |
| July 27, 2008 | Rochester | United States | Blue Cross Arena | 8,398 | 10,530 | 79.8% | $513,490 |
| July 29, 2008 | Pittsburgh | Mellon Arena | 10,261 | 11,740 | 89.0% | $611,385 | |
| July 30, 2008 | Newark | Prudential Center | 23,457 | 27,357 | 85.7% | $1,409,954 | |
| July 31, 2008 | |||||||
| August 2, 2008 | Atlantic City | Boardwalk Hall | 12,473 | 12,473 | 100% | $741,949 | |
| August 4, 2008 | Uniondale | Nassau Coliseum | 22,341 | 24,204 | 92.3% | $1,348,285 | |
| August 5, 2008 | |||||||
| August 6, 2008 | Albany | Times Union Center | 8,867 | 11,394 | 77.8% | $531,572 | |
| August 8, 2008 | Hartford | XL Center | 9,804 | 11,675 | 84.0% | $601,871 | |
| August 9, 2008 | Worcester | DCU Center | 10,791 | 10,791 | 100% | $643,194 | |
| August 10, 2008 | Manchester | Verizon Wireless Arena | 9,133 | 9,133 | 100% | $561,192 | |
| August 12, 2008 | Baltimore | 1st Mariner Arena | 9,478 | 11,998 | 79.0% | $580,464 | |
| August 13, 2008 | Philadelphia | Wachovia Center | 11,182 | 14,111 | 79.2% | $677,765 | |
| August 14, 2008 | Washington, D.C. | Verizon Center | 10,441 | 11,672 | 89.5% | $633,315 | |
| August 16, 2008 | Lexington | Rupp Arena | 8,217 | 10,347 | 79.4% | $511,096 | |
| August 17, 2008 | Charlotte | Time Warner Cable Arena | 9,511 | 11,559 | 82.3% | $580,672 | |
| August 18, 2008 | Duluth | Arena at Gwinnett Center | 10,016 | 10,016 | 100% | $627,239 | |
| August 20, 2008 | Sunrise | BankAtlantic Center | 9,183 | 12,463 | 73.7% | $571,260 | |
| August 21, 2008 | Tampa | St. Pete Times Forum | 9,810 | 13,192 | 74.4% | $605,483 | |
| August 24, 2008 | Houston | Toyota Center | 8,720 | 10,076 | 86.5% | $533,616 | |
| August 25, 2008 | Dallas | American Airlines Center | 9,501 | 10,837 | 87.7% | $582,500 | |
| August 26, 2008 | Bossier City | CenturyTel Center | 5,924 | 7,439 | 79.6% | $376,342 | |
| August 28, 2008 | Oklahoma City | Ford Center | 6,376 | 7,926 | 80.4% | $397,292 | |
| August 29, 2008 | Kansas City | Sprint Center | 24,369 | 26,059 | 93.5% | $1,408,171 | |
| August 30, 2008 | |||||||
| August 31, 2008 | Minneapolis | Target Center | 9,977 | 11,478 | 86.9% | $602,112 | |
| September 2, 2008 | Ashwaubenon | Resch Center | 5,556 | 7,495 | 74.1% | $349,598 | |
| September 3, 2008 | Grand Rapids | Van Andel Arena | 7,689 | 10,225 | 75.2% | $472,623 | |
| September 4, 2008 | Cleveland | Wolstein Center | 7,226 | 10,269 | 70.5% | $441,364 | |
| September 6, 2008 | Bridgeport | Arena at Harbor Yard | 8,184 | 8,184 | 100% | $506,269 | |
| September 7, 2008 | Providence | Dunkin' Donuts Center | 8,884 | 8,884 | 100% | $547,070 | |
| September 8, 2008 | Wilkes-Barre | Wachovia Arena | 7,722 | 8,587 | 89.9% | $476,959 | |
| September 10, 2008 | Fort Wayne | Allen County War Memorial Coliseum | 4,780 | 7,438 | 64.1% | $301,785 | |
| September 11, 2008 | Evansville | Roberts Municipal Stadium | 3,940 | 6,359 | 62.0% | $230,814 | |
| September 13, 2008 | Tulsa | BOK Center | 12,177 | 12,177 | 100% | $696,375 | |
Response
The 2008 tour was far more successful than 2007's. Sales were up 38% in revenue per date and average attendance number up 35% compared to 2007. The average percentage of seats filled was 85.1% compared to season six's 68.4%; and 9 out of 53 shows were sold out.[8]
It is ranked as the 24th biggest grossing tour of 2008 on Billboard's Year-End Music Charts, earning $29,906,507 from a total of 493,296 tickets sold.[9]
Tour summary
- Number of shows – 53 (9 sold out)
- Total gross – $29,906,507
- Total attendance – 493,296
- Average attendance – 9,307 (85.1%)
- Average ticket price – $60.63
- Highest gross – Rosemont, Illinois – $773,060
- Lowest gross – Evansville, Indiana – $230,814
- Highest attendance – Rosemont, Illinois – 13,101 (100%)
- Lowest attendance – Evansville, Indiana – 3,940 (62.0%)
Idols in Concert for the Holidays
Due to the success of the 2008 tour, Fox and 19 Entertainment have decided to hold a tour called Idols in Concert for the Holidays.[10] The former Idol contestants headlining the tour include David Hernandez (season 7), Diana DeGarmo (season 3), Kimberley Locke (season 2) and Chikezie (season 7).[11]
| Date | City | Country | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
| November 29, 2008 | Pittsburgh | United States | Byham Theater |
| December 1, 2008 | El Paso | Plaza Theatre | |
| December 4, 2008 | Englewood | Bergen Performing Arts Center | |
| December 10, 2008 | Salem | Salem Civic Center | |
| December 11, 2008 | Mobile | Mitchell Center | |
| December 19, 2008 | Akron | E. J. Thomas Hall | |
| December 20, 2008 | Davenport | Adler Theatre | |
| December 21, 2008 | Waukegan | Genesee Theatre |
References
- ‘American Idol Live!’ 2008 Tour Dates Announced Access Hollywood, Retrieved July 26, 2020
- Guitar Hero Hits the Road with the American Idols Live! Tour 2008
- 'Idol' Tracker: Live from Arizona, the tour begins
- David Cook on Idol's heinous group numbers and a very cool tour collaboration!
- Rumor Central! Baraccuda Number with Jason Castro, Carly Smithson and David Cook Nixed, David Cook Plays for Walmart Shareholders meeting
- Guitar Hero: World Tour Teams up with American Idols Live
- Numbers from Billboard boxscore and Pollstar
- Final figures in for Idol Tour '08: Much better than last year's
- 'American Idol' by the numbers
- American Idols Live Tickets
- American Stars in Concert for the Holidays Tour Begins Saturday
External links
- Tour info from the American Idol official website
- Poptarts Tour Website
| Preceded by Season 6 (2007) |
American Idols Live! Tour Season 7 (2008) |
Succeeded by Season 8 (2009) |
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