Idol Top 13 2011

The American Idol 2011 season has been a suprising success despite many a nay sayer after the departure of Simon Cowell and other judges. The additionof Jennifer Lopez andSteven Tyler has baeen a refreshing change plus a slew of supertalented finalists have set up a most wanted summer American Idol Live! Tour.

Kenny Chesney and Zac Brown will be selling country tickets against future country stars Scotty Mcreery and Lauren Alaina.

Officials just released the dates and the cities set for the 2011 American Idol tour featuring Casey Abrams, of Idyllwild, Calif., Haley Reinhard, of Milwaukee, Jacob Lusk, of Compton, Calif., James Durbin, of Santa Cruz, Calif., Karen Rodriguez , of New York City, Lauren Alaina, of Rossville, Ga., Paul McDonald, of Huntsville, AL., Pia Toscano, of Howard Beach, N.Y., Scotty McCreery,of Garner, N.C. Thia Megia, of Mountain House, Calif. (Stefano too).

Here are the “American Idols Live!” 2011 tour dates:
July 6: West Valley City, Utah (Maverik Center)
July 8: Everett, Wash. (Comcast Arena at Everett Events Center)
July 9: Portland, Ore. (Rose Garden)
July 11: Sacramento, Calif. (Power Balance Pavilion)
July 12: Oakland, Calif. (The Oracle Arena)
July 13: San Jose, Calif. (HP Pavilion at San Jose)
July 15: Los Angeles, Calif. (Nokia Theatre LA Live)
July 16: Ontario, Calif. (Citizens Business Bank Arena)
July 17: Phoenix, Ariz. (US Airways Arena)
July 19: Oklahoma, Okla. (Cox Convention Center)
July 20: Grand Prairie, Texas (Verizon Theater at Grand Prairie)
July 21: Houston, Texas (Reliant Arena)
July 22: New Orleans, La. (Lakefront Arena)
July 24: Orlando, Fla. (Amway Center)
July 26: Duluth, Ga. (Arena at Gwinnett Center)
July 27: Raleigh, N.C. (RBC Center)
July 28: Charlotte, N.C. (Time Warner Cable Arena)
July 30: Nashville, Tenn. (Bridgestone Arena)
July 31: St. Louis, Mo. (Scottrade Center)
Aug. 2: Kansas City, Mo. (Sprint Center)
Aug. 3: Minneapolis, Minn. (Target Center)
Aug. 4: Milwaukee, Wis. (Bradley Center)
Aug. 6: Rosemont, Ill. (Allstate Arena)
Aug. 7: Detroit, Mich. (Joe Louis Arena)
Aug. 9: Columbus, Ohio (Schottenstein Center)
Aug. 10: Pittsburgh, Pa. (Consol Energy Center)
Aug. 11: Baltimore, Md. (1st Mariner Arena)
Aug. 13: Atlantic City, N.J. (Boardwalk Hall)
Aug. 14: Newark, N.J. (Prudential Center)
Aug. 17: Philadelphia, Pa. (Wells Fargo Center)
Aug. 19: Washington, D.C. (Verizon Center)
Aug. 20: Richmond, Va. (Richmond Coliseum)
Aug. 21: Wilkes-Barre, Pa. (Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza)
Aug. 23: Long Island, N.Y. (Nassau Coliseum)
Aug. 25: Bridgeport, Conn. (Webster Bank Arena at Harbor Yard)
Aug. 27: Providence, R.I. (Dunkin’ Donuts Center)
Aug. 28: Albany, N.Y. (Times Union Center)
Aug. 30: Portland, Maine (Cumberland County Civic Center)
Aug. 31: Manchester, N.H. (Verizon Wireless Arena)
Sept. 1: Worcester, Mass. (DCU Center)
Sept. 3: Uncasville, Conn. (Mohegan Sun Arena)
Sept. 6: Syracuse, N.Y. (War Memorial Arena at The Oncenter)
Sept. 7: Reading, Pa. (Sovereign Center)
Sept. 9: Toronto, Ont. (Air Canada Centre)
Sept. 10: Rochester, N.Y. (Blue Cross Arena)

Danny Gokey begins his Best Days

Nashville, TN – 19 Recordings/RCA Nashville recording artist Danny Gokey powers his way into the chart record books this week, as his March 2 debut album, My Best Days, brought out the fans, with first-week sales of more than 65,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan. The accomplishment nets Gokey the best opening-week sales by a debut country male since 1992.

The soaring success of My Best Days includes a sizzling digital album tally in excess of 19,000 downloads, according to Nielsen SoundScan, earning Danny a #1 berth in chart history with the best first-week digital album sales ever recorded by a debut country act.

The album’s total sales also earn My Best Days this week’s highest chart entry by a debut artist, landing at #3 on Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart and #4 on the all-genre Billboard 200.

After crossing the country with an event-packed release week filled with in-store appearances, concerts, radio visits, and television – including a Thursday return to American Idol to sing his hit, “My Best Days Are Ahead of Me” – Gokey will be in Nashville this weekend for a March 13 performance on the Grand Ole Opry.  Gokey made his Opry debut earlier this year and will play both Opry shows this Saturday, in addition to meeting fans at a CD signing from 5:30 PM – 6:30 PM at The Opry Shop.

About Danny Gokey: Danny Gokey became a favorite of millions of fans nationwide as a finalist on Season Eight of American Idol, and on March 2, the Milwaukee native and 19 Recordings/RCA Nashville recording artist released his debut album, My Best Days.  Danny credits his late wife, Sophia, with the inspiration to pursue his musical dreams on Idol, and he continues to honor her with the charitable work of the Sophia’s Heart Foundation, founded in her memory.  For more information on all things Danny, visit him online at www.dannygokey.com.