Idol Tidbits, September 26: New Tour Dates Announced for Kelly, Clay, and George

I just realized that we are at the halfway point between the finale of American Idol 4 and the start of the new season in January. I may have to hire an assistant to help me keep up with all of this!

Here's what's going on.

Kelly Clarkson has received three nominations for the American Music Awards, including best female pop/rock artist. Breakaway has been nominated for best pop/rock album and Kelly is also up for Favorite Artist in the Adult Contemporary category. Fantasia was nominated for two AMA awards – Best R&B Female and Best R&B Album for Free Yourself. The show will air on November 22 on ABC.

As promised, Kelly has rescheduled the shows that were cancelled earlier this month due to illness. Here are the new dates:

12/7 - Hidalgo, TX Dodge Arena
12/8 - Corpus Christi, TX American Bank Center
12/10 - Vegas, NV Aladdin
12/11 - San Diego, CA Cox Arena
12/13 - Fresno, CA Save Mart (Fresno State)
12/15 - Irvine, CA Bren Events Center
12/16 - Reno, NV Reno Events Center
12/18 - Spokane, WA Star Theatre

Last week, Kelly was a guest on Oprah, performing "Breakaway" and "Because of You." She impressed Oprah, who said that Kelly could "sang!"

Clay Aiken showed up at last week’s Emmys, serving as a correspondent for The Insider and looking quite spiffy! He also stopped by the Tonight Show with Jay Leno on Monday (9/26) night to sign the Harley that is being auctioned off to help raise money for Katrina victims.

Clay has also donated the Kenneth Cole tuxedo, shoes, and cuff links that he wore to the Emmy show to the Clothes Off Their Backs charity auction. No surprise that fans are responding, and as of the time this article was submitted, bids for the tux had reached $8500.00!

On November 2, Clay kicks off his second annual Make a Joyful Noise tour at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre in Vancouver, BC. Here's the rest of the schedule:

11/3 - Theatre of the Clouds, Rose Garden, Portland, OR
11/5 - Hult Center for the Performing Arts, Eugene, OR
11/6 - McCaw Hall, Seattle, WA
11/8 - Paramount Theatre, Oakland, CA
11/9 - Kodak Theater, Los Angeles, CA
11/10 - Kodak Theater, Los Angeles, CA
11/11 - Civic Theatre, San Diego, CA
11/13 - Dodge Theatre, Phoenix, AZ
11/15 - NuSkin Theatre @ The Delta Center, Salt Lake City, UT
11/16 - Convention Center Theatre, Denver, CO
11/18 - Mid-America Center, Council Bluffs, IA
11/19 - Midland Theatre, Kansas City, MO
11/21 - Northrop Auditorium, Minneapolis, MN
11/22 - Chicago Theatre, Chicago, IL
11/25 - Palace Theatre, Louisville, KY
11/26 - Music Hall, Cincinnati, OH
11/27 - Convocation Center, Youngstown, OH
11/29 - Heinz Hall, Pittsburgh, PA
11/30 - Sovereign Center, Reading, PA
12/2 - Beacon Theatre, New York, NY
12/3 - Beacon Theatre, New York, NY
12/4 - Beacon Theatre, New York, NY
12/6 - Orpheum Theatre, Boston, MA
12/8 - The Palace, Albany, NY
12/9 - Providence Performing Arts Center, Providence, RI
12/10 - Oakdale Theatre, Wallingford, CT
12/11 - Tweeter Center, Camden, NJ
12/13 - Constitution Hall, Washington, DC
12/14 - Lyric Theater, Baltimore, MD
12/16 - Gaylord Entertainment Center, Nashville, TN
12/17 - Civic Center Theater, Atlanta, GA
12/18 - Pensacola Civic Center, Pensacola, FL
12/20 - Township Auditorium, Columbia, SC
12/21 - New Charlotte Arena, Charlotte, NC
12/22 - Moonlight Theatre @ the RBC Center, Raleigh, NC
12/27 - Seminole Arena @ Hard Rock Live, Hollywood, FL
12/28 - King Center for the Arts, Melbourne, FL
12/29 - Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater, FL
12/30 - Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater, FL