Today Idol headlines after the jump ¦
‘Idols’ tour on track, not failing, says promoter
Reports that the Jordin Sparks-led American Idols Live tour is tanking are premature, according to an executive with tour promoter AEG Live.
An article in USA Today compared grosses for the previous year’s tour with this year’s outing: $35.2 million in 2006 vs. $12.1 million for the 2007 outing.
However, that compares only the first 30 shows of the current outing against all 59 shows of the 2006 Taylor Hicks-led tour.
“I have done every American Idol tour since it has started, and they’re all different, ” Debora Rathwell says. “To just take a lot of numbers and mush them together and come up with some sort of conclusion is not really correct.” ………
‘Idol’ fans get pre-concert treat
The show started early for scores of lucky fans who arrived early to tonight’s “American Idols Live!” show at the Wachovia Center.
Several of the performers, including Sanjaya Malakar and Chris Richardson, staged an impromptu “meet-and-greet” outside the South Philadelphia arena prior to the performance…….
‘Idol’ champ, also-rans thrill crowd
…the female-to-male ratio appeared to be about 50-to-1. Among the men in the crowd was Tony Williams, a 42-year-old woodworker from Harleysville, Pa. He wasn’t exactly there by choice.
“I won a radio contest. I thought (the prize was) Genesis tickets, ” he explained, referring to the veteran British rock band that is booked at the Wachovia Center later this month.
“When they said, “You’re going to “American Idol, ‘ I said, “Is (Genesis lead singer) Phil Collins, gonna be there?’ ”
Although the answer was obviously no, Williams accepted the tickets anyway and asked his daughter, Ashley, 12, to join him.
And would Ashley also have preferred to see Genesis?
“She doesn’t know who Genesis is, ” Williams said.
Ladies’ Choice
…The title of Ladies Choice is borrowed from the 1970s disco scene. Historically, it was customary for men to ask women to dance. At some point, the DJ would stop playing, announce that the next song would be …ladies choice, encouraging women to choose the men they wanted to dance with. With a variable lineup of sidemen and guest vocalists: LaToya London, Regina Belle, Terry Dexter and Lauren Evans, Taylor, they recapture those days quite well, but in a way that keeps the music fresh and honest..
