The Idol Tour Improves, But...

The numbers are out on this year’s “Idols Live” tour and they’re better, but…

According to “Billboard Boxscore,” this year’s tour earned $29.3 million and filled seats at an 85.4% average rate. That’s up over the 2007 tour, which earned $20.9 million and had a 68.4% average.

But the champion is the 2006 tour, which earned $35.3 million and filled seats at an average rate of 96.1%. Of course, that was the year with the best top 10 ever of Taylor Hicks, Katharine McPhee, Elliott Yamin, Chris Daughtry, Paris Bennett, Kellie Pickler, Bucky Covington, Ace Young, Mandisa and Lisa Tucker. Only one real bummer in that bunch…

Personally, I would like to see the tour go back to the 2007 format which jumbled up all of the performers instead of trotting them out in the order they were eliminated. Of course, you have to have good performers first…