According to Billboard, the tour featuring the stars of the second season of Fox's American Idol is outselling the tour that followed the first season. The tour featuring most of the Idol 2 finalists, including Clay Aiken and Ruben Studdard (who currently have the top 2 singles in the U.S.), has completely sold out 23 of its 41 venues, and another 10 are close to sell-out level. By contrast, the tour following the first Idol, which featured Kelly Clarkson and Justin Guarini, sold out just 10 of its 30 venues, with just 10 more over 70% capacity.

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Promoters credit the extra success of the tour both to the increased popularity of Idol (which had a 71% increase in viewers) and the fact that tickets went on sale the week before the Idol finale, unlike the 2002 tour, when tickets went on sale after the finale.

The tour starts July 8 at the Excel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn., and ends Aug. 31 at the Arrowhead Pond in Anaheim, Calif. Ticket prices range from $25-$45 apiece, the same range as last year.

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