# 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 started in Glendale and ended in Tulsa.
The tour was sponsored by Kellogg's Pop-Tarts and Guitar Hero.

## 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.
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. The suggestion was however rejected by Idol tour producers.

## 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

* During the intermission, a video of the Top 10 performing "We're An American Idol Band" in 1970s outfits was shown as part of the Guitar Hero World Tour rockumentary, and a Guitar Hero contest for the some members of audience was held.

## Tour dates

| Date | City | Country | Venue |
| July 1, 2008 | Glendale | United States | Jobing.com Arena |
| July 2, 2008 | San Diego | United States | San Diego Sports Arena |
| July 3, 2008 | Fresno | United States | Save Mart Center |
| July 5, 2008 | Las Vegas | United States | Thomas & Mack Center |
| July 7, 2008 | Los Angeles | United States | Staples Center |
| July 8, 2008 | San Jose | United States | HP Pavilion at San Jose |
| July 9, 2008 | Sacramento | United States | ARCO Arena |
| July 11, 2008 | Portland | United States | Rose Garden |
| July 12, 2008 | Tacoma | United States | Tacoma Dome |
| July 14, 2008 | West Valley City | United States | E Center |
| July 15, 2008 | West Valley City | United States | E Center |
| July 18, 2008 | St. Louis | United States | Scottrade Center |
| July 19, 2008 | Rosemont | United States | Allstate Arena |
| July 20, 2008 | Columbus | United States | Schottenstein Center |
| July 22, 2008 | Indianapolis | United States | Conseco Fieldhouse |
| July 23, 2008 | Cincinnati | United States | U.S. Bank Arena |
| July 24, 2008 | Detroit | United States | Joe Louis Arena |
| July 26, 2008 | Toronto | Canada | Air Canada Centre |
| July 27, 2008 | Rochester | United States | Blue Cross Arena |
| July 29, 2008 | Pittsburgh | United States | Mellon Arena |
| July 30, 2008 | Newark | United States | Prudential Center |
| July 31, 2008 | Newark | United States | Prudential Center |
| August 2, 2008 | Atlantic City | United States | Boardwalk Hall |
| August 4, 2008 | Uniondale | United States | Nassau Coliseum |
| August 5, 2008 | Uniondale | United States | Nassau Coliseum |
| August 6, 2008 | Albany | United States | Times Union Center |
| August 8, 2008 | Hartford | United States | XL Center |
| August 9, 2008 | Worcester | United States | DCU Center |
| August 10, 2008 | Manchester | United States | Verizon Wireless Arena |
| August 12, 2008 | Baltimore | United States | 1st Mariner Arena |
| August 13, 2008 | Philadelphia | United States | Wachovia Center |
| August 14, 2008 | Washington, D.C. | United States | Verizon Center |
| August 16, 2008 | Lexington | United States | Rupp Arena |
| August 17, 2008 | Charlotte | United States | Time Warner Cable Arena |
| August 18, 2008 | Duluth | United States | Arena at Gwinnett Center |
| August 20, 2008 | Sunrise | United States | BankAtlantic Center |
| August 21, 2008 | Tampa | United States | St. Pete Times Forum |
| August 24, 2008 | Houston | United States | Toyota Center |
| August 25, 2008 | Dallas | United States | American Airlines Center |
| August 26, 2008 | Bossier City | United States | CenturyTel Center |
| August 28, 2008 | Oklahoma City | United States | Ford Center |
| August 29, 2008 | Kansas City | United States | Sprint Center |
| August 30, 2008 | Kansas City | United States | Sprint Center |
| August 31, 2008 | Minneapolis | United States | Target Center |
| September 2, 2008 | Green Bay | United States | Resch Center |
| September 3, 2008 | Grand Rapids | United States | Van Andel Arena |
| September 4, 2008 | Cleveland | United States | Wolstein Center |
| September 6, 2008 | Bridgeport | United States | Arena at Harbor Yard |
| September 7, 2008 | Providence | United States | Dunkin' Donuts Center |
| September 8, 2008 | Wilkes-Barre | United States | Wachovia Arena |
| September 10, 2008 | Fort Wayne | United States | Allen County War Memorial Coliseum |
| September 11, 2008 | Evansville | United States | Roberts Municipal Stadium |
| September 13, 2008 | Tulsa | United States | BOK Center |

## 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.
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.

## 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. The former Idol contestants headlining the tour include David Hernandez (season 7), Diana DeGarmo (season 3), Kimberley Locke (season 2) and Chikezie (season 7).
| Date | City | Venue |
| November 29, 2008 | Pittsburgh | Byham Theater |
| December 1, 2008 | El Paso | Kendle Kidd Performance Hall |
| 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 |