"American Idol" winner Taylor Hicks [ tickets ] has extended his current tour deeper into summer as the "Soul Patrol" leader continues to back his self-titled debut album.

Hicks continues a streak of non-stop touring that began back in February with a month's worth of fresh dates, including tonight's (8/1) first of back-to-back shows in Vicksburg, MS. The new leg then hits a number of Northeastern locales before dipping down into Florida and Texas. All dates are shown below.

Hicks swept Fox TV's "American Idol" competition a year ago and released his self-titled debut in December. The album, produced by Grammy winner Matt Serletic (Rob Thomas, Matchbox Twenty), entered The Billboard 200 chart at No. 2.

The set's first single, "Do I Make You Proud," hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and became the magazine's best-selling single of 2006, according to Hicks' website. The most recent single from the album, "Heaven Knows," peaked at No. 27 on Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart. A streaming version of that song and others can be heard at the singer's MySpace page.

Hicks released an autobiographical book in July and spent some time in bookstores last month promoting the tome and doing in-store signings. The singer has also lined up an extensive slate of radio and TV appearances to sell the book, which owns the lengthy title "Heart Full of Soul: An Inspirational Memoir About Finding Your Voice and Finding Your Way."