As they do every year, American Idols Live kicked off their latest tour on July 1st, 2008 in Glendale, Arizona. The finalists of American Idols Live lived up to the hype of the concert with amazing performances from the top 10 finalists of the highly successful show. Performing in front of a sold out audience, the crowd, filled with many young fans, screamed to the likes of winner David Cook and runner up David Archuleta. David Cook performed Hello by Lionel Richie, The Time of My Life which was the winning song of the 2008 season, I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing by Aerosmith, My Hero by the Foo Fighters, and the Chris Cornell version of Billie Jean. Respectively, David Archuelta sang his heart out to Angels by Robbie Williams, Apologize by One Republic, Stand by Me by Ben E. King, Beautiful Girls by Sean Kingston, and When You Say You Love Me by Josh Groban. The two undoubtedly stole the show of the American Idols Live Tour, as most critics and spectators alike knew they would. The crowd favorite of the American Idols Live tour seemed to be Apologize by little David Archuleta, instead of a song by the winner of the 2008 season. However, taking into consideration the timing of the release of the hit single by One Republic with that of the kick off of the American Idols Live Tour, it certainly makes sense that the crowd would react with huge applause to a song they’ve heard over a dozen times a day on the radio.
Other notable performances of the 2008 American Idols Live Tour included Michael Johns Queen melody of We Will Rock You and We Are The Champions, Let It Be by Brooke White, Crazy On You by Carty Smithson, and Kristy Lee Cook’s version of God Bless the USA. The other performers in the American Idols Live Tour were Chikezie, Ramiele Malubay, Jason Castro, and the young man whose talents were doubted by many, Syesha Mercado.
These 10 talented young performers continued to awe the herds of fans form the American Idols Live Tour with over 40 more shows throughout the summer. They performed in over 20 states, from Los Angeles to New York, and all of Middle America between the two. The American Idols Live tour even made a special stop in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on July 26th at the Air Canada Center, a venue shared with the biggest rock stars who visit the city. They ended each and every performance with a group collaboration of Don’t Stop the Music by Rihanna, which never failed to bring the crowd to their feet and craving for more from their American Idols Live Icons. As you gazed through each crowd of each venue, flocks of signs form their fans would be held up high as they cheered for their favorites. But all good things must come to an end, and on September 13th, 2008 in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the 2008 American Idols Live Summer Tour came to an end. For some involved in the American Idols Live tour, this would mark the end of the biggest success they will ever come to know, for others it will only be the beginning. I suppose only time will tell what fate has in store for these top 10 contestants who unified for their fans during the American Idols Live 2008 Summer Tour.
As for the success of the tour, it surpassed that of the 2007 American Idols Live Tour. The sales were up 38% over 2007. The average percentage of seats filled was 85.4% compared to season six’s 68.4%. The tour’s total revenues totaled $29.3 million while the previous tour had made significantly less with $20.9 million. As for the future of the American Idols Live tours one can only assume that with numbers like this, the 2009 American Idols Live Tour will certainly be coming to a venue near you.