Clockwise from top right – Kimberly Caldwell, Julia DeMato, Kimberley Locke, Rickey Smith, Charles Grigsby, Carmen Rusmusen, Trenyce Center – Ruben Studdard, Clay Aiken
American Idols Live! Tour 2003 was a concert tour featuring 9 of the top 12 contestants of the second season of American Idol, which aired in 2003. It began on July 8, 2003, St. Paul, Minnesota and finished on August 31, 2003, in Anaheim, California. Josh Gracin was unable to participate in the tour as he was recalled to his unit in the U.S. Marines, and Corey Clark was barred from participating due to his failure to reveal his Misdemeanor arrest.[1] Corey Clark was replaced by Charles Grigsby for the tour, but the show producers opted not to replace Josh Gracin with twelfth-placed finisher Vanessa Olivarez.
Following the success of the first concert tour of 2002, the tour was expanded to 41 dates, including a stop in Canada.[2][3] The tour was sponsored by Kellogg's Pop-Tarts.[4]
The show had the similar structure as that of the previous season, with the first half being entirely solos performed by contestants in elimination order, and the second half consisting of performances in groups and some solos. There was however more varied ensemble singing with a number of duets and a few trios introduced.
This tour was an even greater success than the first one with sell-out shows in many cities.[5] In total 411,005 tickets were sold, yielding a gross total of $15,977,802 as reported by Billboard, nearly doubling that of Season 1 tour.[6]
Tour summary
Number of shows – 41 (19 sold out)
Total gross – $15,977,802
Total attendance – 411,005
Average attendance – 10,025 (85%)
Average ticket price – $38.87
Highest gross – Detroit, Michigan – $545,543
Lowest gross – Boise, Idaho – $121,455
Highest attendance – Charlotte, North Carolina – 14,645 (100%)
