2005 summer concert tour
American Idols Live! Tour 2005|
 From top to bottom Anwar Robinson, Scott Savol, Jessica Sierra, Nadia Turner, Anthony Fedorov, Vonzell Solomon, Nikko Smith, Carrie Underwood, Bo Bice, Constantine Maroulis |
| Start date | July 12, 2005 |
|---|
| End date | September 11, 2005 |
|---|
| No. of shows | 44 |
|---|
| Box office | US$17.3 million from 43 shows |
|---|
|
|
|
American Idols Live! Tour 2005 was a summer concert tour in the United States featuring the top 10 contestants of the fourth season of American Idol, which aired in 2005. It was sponsored by Kellogg Pop-Tarts. It followed in the tradition of other American Idol summer tours following the completion of each season in May. After the poor attendance of the tour the previous year, the tour was scaled down somewhat. Forty dates were initially planned, four more dates were however later added.[1][2] An extra show was further added at the end of the tour as a benefit concert for the victims of Hurricane Katrina which struck Mississippi two weeks earlier.[3]
Before the Las Vegas show, runner-up Bo Bice came down with serious stomach pains and was rushed to the hospital. He was diagnosed with a blockage in his intestines, and received emergency surgery.[4] He returned for the last two shows of the tour in Syracuse, New York.[5] Bice also broke his foot on stage earlier in the tour at Manchester.[6]
Show overview
Shows from this year's tour differed significantly from the previous three tours. Each performer performed their own set of two to three songs to showcase their differing talent. Unlike previous years, ensemble singing was more limited. There were only a few duets in addition to the obligatory final group performance which consisted of two songs in this tour. The individual sets started off with tenth-place finisher Jessica Sierra and ending with the winner Carrie Underwood, but those in between did not performed in elimination order. The first half of the show ended with Nadia Turner's set, and the second half began with a duet between Anwar Robinson and Vonzell Solomon.[7]
Bo Bice was absent throughout most of the later part of the tour due to his serious nature of his illness that required surgery,[4] and this necessitated modifications and re-arrangement to the tour set list. Extra songs were added by some singers, and a group performance by the male singers was also added.
Response
The tour returned to form after the dismal Season 3 tour. Excluding the sold-out Hurricane Katrina benefit show, the average attendance was at 89% capacity, with 12 of the 43 shows sold out. Excluding the last charity show in Syracuse, the revenue from ticket sales totalled $17,364,290 million with 392,094 tickets sold according to Billboard.[11]
