American Idols Live! Tour 2006 was a summer and fall concert tour in the United States featuring the top 10 contestants of the fifth season of American Idol, which aired in 2006. It was sponsored by Kellogg Pop-Tarts. The tour started on July 5 and ended on September 24 covering 60 dates, the biggest tour thus far.'Idol' worshipers give stars a sweet start to their tour Initially 39 dates were planned,'American Idol' Top 10 To Hit 39 Cities On Summer Tour but 21 extra dates were later added due to demand.Pop Tarts presents American Idols Live Tour 2006 It followed in the tradition of other American Idol summer tours following the completion of each season in May.

Runner-up Katharine McPhee missed the first 17 shows of the tour due to severe bronchitis and laryngitis,Katharine McPhee misses start of Idol tour because of bronchitis, laryngitis She also missed her first rescheduled show on July 27 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania due to cancelled flight caused by bad weather. At the concert in Charlotte, North Carolina, McPhee tripped backstage before going on, and a hair-line fracture to her left foot was later discovered when she was taken to a hospital after the show.

Bucky Covington was absent from the August 13 performance at the Savvis Center in St. Louis due to an illness. Kellie Pickler was absent from the first Atlanta show on August 3.

Performers Top 10Taylor Hicks (winner) Katharine McPhee (2nd place)Elliott Yamin (3rd place) Chris Daughtry (4th place)Paris Bennett (5th place) Kellie Pickler (6th place)Ace Young (7th place) Bucky Covington (8th place)Mandisa (9th place) Lisa Tucker (10th place)

Show overview The show featured a series of individual performances with each contestant performing a set of songs. Many also performed a duet with the next performer in the transition between the sets of songs. In the first half the contestants performed in random order, in the second half the last four performed in elimination order, starting with Chris Daughtry and ending with Taylor Hicks. The second half also featured a number of group songs, with a traditional group performance ending the show. Some changes were made in the earlier shows due to the absence of Katharine McPhee.

Setlist Mandisa – "I'm Every Woman" (Chaka Khan), "If I Was Your Woman" (Alicia Keys) Mandisa and Ace Young – "I'm Your Angel" (R. Kelly & Celine Dion) Young – "Father Figure" (George Michael), "Harder to Breathe" (Maroon 5) Lisa Tucker – "Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours" (Stevie Wonder), "Your Song" (Elton John), "Someone Saved My Life Tonight" (Elton John) Tucker and Paris Bennett – "Waterfalls" (TLC) Bennett – "Midnight Train to Georgia" (Gladys Knight & the Pips), "Crazy in Love" (Beyoncé Knowles & Jay-Z) Bucky Covington – "Superstition" (Stevie Wonder), "Drift Away" (Dobie Gray) Covington and Kellie Pickler – "You're the One That I Want" (John Travolta & Olivia Newton-John) Pickler – "Walkin' After Midnight" (Patsy Cline)/Something To Talk About (Bonnie Raitt), "I'm the Only One" (Melissa Etheridge)

Intermission

Chris Daughtry – "Whole Lotta Love" (Led Zeppelin), "Wanted Dead or Alive" (Bon Jovi), "Renegade" (Styx) Daughtry and Elliott Yamin – "Savin' Me" (Nickelback) Yamin – "Never Too Much" (Luther Vandross), "Trouble" (Elvis Presley), "Moody's Mood For Love" (James Moody) Covington, Young, Daughtry and Yamin – "Patience" (Guns N' Roses) Mandisa, Tucker, Pickler and Bennett – "Man! I Feel Like a Woman!" (Shania Twain), "I'm a Woman" (Peggy Lee) Katharine McPhee – "Black Horse and the Cherry Tree" (KT Tunstall), "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" (Judy Garland), and "Think" (Aretha Franklin) Taylor Hicks – "Jailhouse Rock" (Elvis Presley), "Hollywood Nights" (Bob Seger), "Sweet Soul Music" (Arthur Conley), "What's Going On" (Marvin Gaye), "Living for the City" (Stevie Wonder), "Don't Let Me Down" (The Beatles), "Do I Make You Proud" (Taylor Hicks), "Takin' It to the Streets" (The Doobie Brothers) Tucker, Mandisa, Covington, Young, Pickler, Bennett, Daughtry and Yamin – "We Are the Champions" (Queen) Top 10 – "Living in America" (James Brown)

Additional notes Katharine McPhee joined the tour after her illness for the July 28 show in Washington, D.C. She did two solo numbers – "Black Horse and the Cherry Tree" and "Somewhere Over The Rainbow" and the group number "Living in America".Katharine, Kellie & Co., Not Quite as Seen on TV Washingtonpost.com She sang just two solo songs until San Diego when she added "Think". Kellie Pickler was sick for the first Atlanta show on August 3, 2006. Katharine McPhee performed in bare feet after she fractured her foot in Charlotte, North Carolina (not in slipper-sandals or gardening slippers that had widely been reported), and performed barefoot for the rest of the tour. She wore a cast on her left foot after the accident until August 22 in St. Paul, Minnesota. The girl's group songs "I'm A Woman", "Man! I Feel Like A Woman" were removed from the set list soon after Katharine's return. Taylor Hicks also removed "Sweet Soul Music", "What's Going On", and "Don't Let Me Down" from his song list. Taylor Hicks' band LiMBO also toured at the same time as the American Idol tour, following many stops of the American Idol tour. Taylor Hicks often performed at their 'after-party' shows, occasionally along with some of his fellow American Idol finalists.

Tour dates Date City (All U.S.) Venue AttendanceNumbers from Billboard boxscore and Pollstar Gross Sales Capacity Percentage July 5, 2006 Manchester Verizon Wireless Arena 18,937 18,937 100% $1,099,302July 6, 2006July 7, 2006 Worcester DCU Center 20,863 20,863 100% $1,202,620July 8, 2006July 9, 2006HartfordHartford Civic Center 12,02912,029100%$654,494July 11, 2006AlbanyPepsi Arena 11,71611,716100%$594,356July 12, 2006HersheyGiant Center 8,86610,50084%$499,058July 13, 2006 East Rutherford Continental Airlines Arena 29,332 29,332 100% $1,576,419July 14, 2006July 15, 2006 Uniondale Nassau Coliseum 25,332 25,332 100% $1,413,926July 16, 2006July 18, 2006Wilkes-BarreWachovia Arena 7,7327,732100%$460,112July 19, 2006ClevelandWolstein Center 10,12710,127100%$554,523July 21, 2006RochesterBlue Cross Arena 10,78610,786100%$579,479July 22, 2006PhiladelphiaWachovia Center 14,83915,49996%$791,159July 23, 2006Atlantic CityBoardwalk Hall 12,34312,343100%$720,068July 25, 2006BridgeportArena at Harbor Yard 8,1258,125100%$516,109July 27, 2006PittsburghMellon Arena 11,75012,35995%$593,595July 28, 2006Washington, D.C.Verizon Center 14,18014,48498%$763,248July 29, 2006RichmondRichmond Coliseum 9,9359,935100%$595,551July 30, 2006GreensboroGreensboro Coliseum 15,33715,337100%$773,655August 1, 2006CharlotteCharlotte Bobcats Arena 12,55614,19089%$632,566August 2, 2006ColumbiaColonial Center 11,37312,07994%$615,051August 3, 2006DuluthArena at Gwinnett Center 10,15610,52997%$587,466August 5, 2006SunriseBankAtlantic Center 12,95013,28498%$729,962August 6, 2006TampaSt. Pete Times Forum 13,98914,32298%$728,473August 8, 2006BirminghamBJCC Arena 13,04113,33498%$694,363August 10, 2006 NashvilleGaylord Entertainment Center 12,88914,34590%$675,515August 11, 2006ColumbusValue City Arena 12,64113,29995%$657,118August 12, 2006MilwaukeeBradley Center 11,74613,15189%$631,857August 13, 2006St. LouisSavvis Center 14,29714,93996%$761,603August 15, 2006Grand RapidsVan Andel Arena 11,41311,66398%$619,256August 16, 2006DetroitJoe Louis Arena 14,08114,96994%$733,732August 17, 2006IndianapolisPepsi Coliseum 10,58210,582 100%$564,314August 18, 2006LouisvilleFreedom Hall 14,05614,056100%$580,980August 19, 2006RosemontAllstate Arena 13,39013,69798%$745,107August 20, 2006PeoriaCarver Arena 8,5369,82587%$476,008August 22, 2006Saint PaulXcel Energy Center 14,93315,46697%$758,311August 25, 2006San DiegoiPayOne Center 10,62411,17695%$582,441August 26, 2006Los AngelesStaples Center 13,42714,11595%$680,394August 27, 2006AnaheimArrowhead Pond of Anaheim 11,52212,21794%$642,245August 29, 2006SacramentoARCO Arena 12,66613,20096%$678,120August 30, 2006San JoseHP Pavilion at San Jose 12,80213,52495%$674,043September 1, 2006PortlandRose Garden Arena 9,564 92%$506,054September 2, 2006TacomaTacoma Dome12,80414,42489%$686,214September 5, 2006 DenverPepsi Center 10,89113,02484%$561,170September 7, 2006 Grand Prairie Nokia Live 12,094 12,290 98% $729,172September 8, 2006September 9, 2006HoustonReliant Arena 7,08810,84598%$431,949September 10, 2006 AustinFrank Erwin Center 8,67910,84580%$447,256September 12, 2006 DuluthArena at Gwinnett Center10,60510,94597%$598,353September 14, 2006HuntingtonBig Sandy Superstore Arena 7,5527,552100%$434,145September 15, 2006NorfolkConstant Convocation Center6,738 $377,389September 16, 2006ReadingSovereign Center 6,9877,24097%$408,589September 17, 2006SyracuseWar Memorial at Oncenter 6,048 94%$357,758September 19, 2006HersheyGiant Center8,84210,03888%$495,755September 21, 2006PortlandCumberland County Civic Center 6,0746,27597%$368,552September 22, 2006 ProvidenceDunkin' Donuts Center 9,7179,99297%$555,038September 23, 2006BridgeportArena at Harbor Yard8,7808,82999.5%$538,263September 24, 2006Wilkes-BarreWachovia Arena8,1888,51996%$479,558

Response The 2006 tour was a huge success, with an average attendance of 96.1% capacity,Final figures in for Idol Tour '08: Much better than last year's and 20 of its shows sold out. It ranked as the thirteenth biggest grossing tour of 2006 in the Billboard year end chart, with a gross of $35,291,883 that doubled the previous season's revenue, and 646,996 tickets sold as totalled from the 59 shows reported to Billboard.The Year in Music and Touring 2006 It is still the most successful Idol tour yet.

Tour summary Number of shows – 60 (20 sold out) Total gross – $35,829,661 (60 shows) Total attendance – 656,550 (60 shows) Average attendance – 10,943 (96%) Average ticket price – $54.57 Highest gross – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – $791,159 Lowest gross – Syracuse, New York – $357,758 Highest attendance – Greensboro, North Carolina – 15,337 (100%) Lowest attendance – Syracuse, New York – 6,048 (94%)

References