American Idol Comes To Canada

Initially, some of us here at ChartAttack were a little embarrassed when we got hooked on American Idol. After all, educated urban hipsters like ourselves shouldn’t be obsessed with a televised talent show, right? Well, now that AI is down to its final three, Idol fever has definitely swept Chart central and we’ve long gotten over the embarrassment. Although the season of AI2 is coming to a close, the fun will continue when the top finalists embark on a live tour this summer.

Yes, there will be Canadian dates.

The tour will come through Toronto on July 22 for a stop at the Air Canada Centre. It then travels to Montreal the following day (venue TBA). The tour, sponsored, hilariously enough, by Pop Tarts, will feature all the AI finalists minus Vanessa Olivarez, who, sadly, the AI people seem to have forgotten completely, and Corey "alleged sister beater" Clark, who was unceremoniously booted off the show once producers found out that he was awaiting a court date on charges of assault. That means we’ll get to rate the vocal chops of Ruben, the Kimberlys (Locke and Caldwell), Clay and Trenyce for ourselves, without the filter of television.

Naturally, it’ll be a pretty slick production with the singers recreating their top rated performances. Here’s a list of suggested songs that we feel like we need to hear live:

Carmen Rasmusen: There’s very little that the much maligned Carmen will be able to do to please a crowd of Ruben fanatics. If we have to hear her though, we’d go for "Turn The Beat Around," which she surprisingly pulled off during the disco episode.

Charles Grigsby: Charles, the first to get kicked off after the phantom Vanessa, was around for such a short period, we hardly remember him. But we still wouldn’t mind hearing his rendition of Stevie Wonder’s "Overjoyed," the song that got him into the finals in the first place.

Clay Aiken: Oh Clay, we can hardly wait to see your facial acrobatics and hear your perfect enunciation first hand. Clay could do anything (save for that embarrassing rendition of "Grease" from last week) and we’d be happy, but here’s hoping that he’ll include "Build Me Up Buttercup" or "Solitaire" in his set list.

Joshua Gracin: He’s a little bit country, he’s a little bit Jack Nicholson as The Joker in Batman. While the Chart posse will probably head to the bar whenever Josh takes the stage, we might be able to stomach his relatively inoffensive version of The Bee Gee’s "To Love Somebody."

Julia DeMato: It’s gotta be "Son Of A Preacher Man." Nothing else will do.

Kimberly Caldwell: Blonde Kimberly will best be remembered for her kooky outfits, not her flair for song choice. If we have to hear her again, we’d pick her cover of "Nowhere To Run" from the Motown episode.

Kimberly Locke: There’s no question — this girl peaked with her interpretation of Billy Joel’s "New York State Of Mind."

Rickey Smith: Um, how about The Jackson Five’s "ABC." No afro wig, please. And no "Hercules, Hercules, Hercules!"

Trenyce: Trenyce hit a home run on her last appearance on the show, which inexplicably got her voted off. Maybe America needs to hear her "Proud Mary" and "Love Will Keep Us Together" again to realize that it was tragic that she got ousted before Joshua Gracin.

Ruben Studdard: Leaving the best 'til last. The Velvet Teddy Bear needs to treat us to a live version of his beautiful misinterpretation of The Carpenter’s "Superstar." We’d also like to hear "Breaking Up Is Hard To Do" again. Or "How Can You Mend A Broken Heart." Or "Can’t Get Enough Of Your Love."

Tickets for the Toronto American Idol show go on sale this Friday (May 16) at all Ticketmaster outlets. They’ll cost between $26 and $48. For information on the Montreal show, consult local listings.