Soul man Taylor Hicks [ tickets ] has added more dates to his 2007 tour, keeping the momentum going behind his "American Idol" win and recently released major-label debut.

After headlining the Orange Bowl halftime show Jan. 2 in Miami, the singer will kick things off with a Feb. 17 Mardi Gras celebration in New Orleans, and then will play clubs and theaters in the Eastern US through end of April. More dates are scheduled to be announced next week, according to Hicks' official blog. The current schedule is listed below.

Hicks has been running full steam ahead since sweeping Fox-TV's "American Idol" competition in May. The silver-haired 30-year-old spent last summer touring the US with his fellow "Idol" finalists, and has since hit the talk-show circuit and recorded his self-titled, Arista Records debut.

The album, released Dec. 12, entered The Billboard 200 chart at No. 2 and has since sold 500,000 units, according to the publication. It includes "The Right Place," a song that Bryan Adams and Jim Vallance penned for Hicks' hero, Ray Charles. The track, which clearly shows Charles' influence on Hicks, is streaming at the singer's website and his MySpace page.

Produced by Grammy winner Matt Serletic (Rob Thomas, Matchbox Twenty), the album features Hicks covering songs by Marvin Gaye, Rob Thomas and others, as well as a couple of original cuts.