‘American Idol’ Finalists To Tour The U.S. This Summer

After two years on a hiatus between the show ending on Fox and rebooting on ABC, American Idol is hitting the road again this summer. The new tour featuring this year’s finalists is expected to begin touring on July 1 and continue for about eight weeks. Just where the tour bus will be taking them will be revealed during this Sunday’s live performance. However, they are reportedly not expecting huge crowds to show up in contrast to earlier tours.

According to Variety, the venues booked for the concert tour are considered to be small to medium-sized theaters across the country and there is a rumor that a former Idol finalist will be given hosting duties. One thing that is known for sure is that the winning group from last summer’s Boy Band competition reality show, In Real Life, will be the tour’s opening act.

This news comes just hours after ABC announced that rebooted version of American Idol would be back for a second season, which includes all of the current judges: Katy Perry, Lionel Richie, and Luke Bryan.

Last Sunday’s live episode of American Idol featuring all Disney music, which gave the show a ratings boost that it needed, reaching 8 million viewers when the Top 10 were whittled down to seven. This week, in another live coast-to-coast performance, half of the show will be a tribute to the music of Prince and the other half will feature songs that came out during the year of each singer’s birth.

The top seven finalists and their song choices for this week include:

• Cade Foehner, who was born in 1996, will be singing Jewel’s “Who Will Save Your Soul” and Prince’s “Jungle Love.”
• Caleb Lee Hutchinson, who was born in 1999, will be singing Lonestar’s “Amazed” and Prince’s “When Doves Cry.”
• Catie Turner, who was born in 2000, will be singing Britney Spears’ “Oops! I Did It Again” and Prince’s “Manic Monday.”
• Gabby Barrett, who was also born in 2000, will be singing Lee Ann Womack’s “I Hope You Dance” and Prince’s “How Come U Don’t Call Me Anymore?”
• Jurnee, who was born in 1999, will be singing Brian McKnight’s “Back At One” and Prince’s “Kiss.”
• Maddie Poppe, who was born in 1997, will be singing Sheryl Crow’s “If It Makes Your Happy” and Prince’s “Nothing Compares 2 U.”
• Michael J. Woodard, who was born in 1997, will be singing Celine Dion’s “My Heart Will Go On” and Prince’s “I Would Die 4 U.”

Viewers will be able to tune in to watch the show live coast-to-coast at 8 p.m. EDT/5 p.m. PDT and the episodes will be repeated during the show’s regular time slot on the west coast at 8 p.m. PDT.