‘American Idol’ notes: the tour, Kelly Clarkson, Bo Bice

AMERICAN IDOL - "119 (Grand Finale)" - Following amazing performances by music superstars and legends, including our very own "American Idol" judges, the winner of Season 1 of "American Idol" on ABC will finally be crowned, as the search for AmericaÕs next superstar comes to a close on its new home on AmericaÕs network, The ABC Television Network, MONDAY, MAY 21 (9:00-11:00 p.m. EDT). (ABC/Eric McCandless) MADDIE POPPE

Credit: Eric McCandless

Credit: Eric McCandless

AMERICAN IDOL - "119 (Grand Finale)" - Following amazing performances by music superstars and legends, including our very own "American Idol" judges, the winner of Season 1 of "American Idol" on ABC will finally be crowned, as the search for AmericaÕs next superstar comes to a close on its new home on AmericaÕs network, The ABC Television Network, MONDAY, MAY 21 (9:00-11:00 p.m. EDT). (ABC/Eric McCandless) MADDIE POPPE

Posted Sunday, July 15, 2018 by RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com on his AJC Radio & TV Talk blog

The "American Idol" tour began last week. There were no press reviews from the first two concerts in Redding, Calif. and Central Point, Ore. and it took some sleuthing by MJ Santilli at MJ's Big Blog to dig up the set list.

She also noted people who did show up didn’t light up YouTube with a lot of videos.

The tour this year, which will run three months through September, features the top seven: Maddie Poppe (winner), Caleb Lee Hutchinson (runner-up), Gabby Barrett (2nd runner up), fifth place finalists Cade Foehner andMichael J Woodard and seventh place finalists Jurnee and Catie Turner. Season 8 winner Kris Allen plays host, a smart move to try to draw more people.

Like the season 13 tour, this tour does not feature a live band, a serious cost-cutting measure that unfortunately makes it less like a serious concert.

The set list includes Caleb and Maddie dueting “You’ve Got a Friend,” Catie reprising “Part of Me” and “Havana” and Gabby bringing back “Red Wagon,” “Church Bells” and “Don’t Stop Believin’ “ Cade performs “No Good” by Kaleo and “The Thrill is gone” by BB King. Maddie sings”God Only Knows,” “Going Going Gone” and “The Rainbow Connection,” along with “Brand New Key.” Woodard covers “Maybe This Time” and “My Heart Will Go On.” Jurnee gets a single solo “Never Enough.” Caleb’s solos are “Like a Wrecking Ball,” “Don’t Close Your Eyes” and “Folsom Prison Blues.” Curiously, he isn’t singing “Johnny Cash Heart.”

There are also a bunch of group numbers.

The tour is not coming to Atlanta. Its only stop in the Southeast is in Nashville in September.

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Kelly Clarkson will take part in a new  YouTube original series "Sugar," executive produced by Adam Levine.

Its based on his video “Sugar” where Maroon 5 surprised wedding parties with live performances. In this case, the eight-episode series will feature different artists each episode surprising deserving fans who are helping their communities. Their heroes gatecrash their special events and give exclusive pop-up performances.

It will debut August 15. Other acts participating include Blake Shelton, Snoop Dogg, Charlie Puth and Fifth Harmony.

Speaking of Clarkson, she will voice the character Moxy in its upcoming animated "UglyDolls" movie and perform original songs.

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Is Covington resident Bo Bice still lead singer of Blood, Sweat & Tears? According to the Albany Democrat-Herald, he was not the front man during a July 5 concert. Question: is he really gone from the band? He joined the band about four years ago. 
YouTube has video of Bice performing with the band as recently as April 27. And his Facebook page has a concert scheduled from May 22.

I left Bice a message on his phone and his FB page and am awaiting a response. I will update this if I get any answer.

James Durbin is still helming Quiet Riot while Adam Lambert is the lead singer for Queen.

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Camilla Cabello ("Havana") made a surprise visit to Ryan Seacrest's radio studio at Children's Hospital in Philadelphia. And Seacrest joined her.

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Lauren Alaina's live performance of "Three":

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Clay Aiken Tweet of the week

He defends Katharine McPhee, who received a lot of social media blowback for getting engaged to the much older David Foster: