Fantasia wins 'Idol,' readies for tour with finalists >> Tour dates and concert ticket info >> LiveDaily

Fantasia wins 'Idol,' readies for tour with finalists

Published May 27, 2004 11:38 AM

By Rob Evans / LiveDaily Editor

Fantasia Barrino [ tickets ], a 19-year-old gospel-tinged singer from High Point, NC, emerged as the winner of the Fox-TV talent competition "American Idol" on Wednesday night (5/26), topping 16-year-old runner-up Diana DeGarmo.

Barrino and DeGarmo were the last singers standing from a class of about 70,000 hopefuls vying for a recording contract. Ruben Studdard won the honor last year, and Kelly Clarkson won the show's first competition in 2002.

Barrino's first single will be "I Believe," a song co-written by season-one "Idol" contestant Tamara Gray. Barrino and DeGarmo both sang the song on Tuesday (5/25).

During Wednesday's two-hour broadcast, host Ryan Seacrest said that a record 65 million phone votes were cast this year to determine the winner, easily topping the 24 million that were cast for last year's "American Idol" season finale.

Barrino and DeGarmo--along with the shows other finalists--will embark this summer on the "American Idols Live [ tickets ]" tour. The outing is scheduled to kick off in Salt Lake City on July 14, and wraps up in San Jose, CA, on Sept. 26.

Other finalists scheduled to appear include George Huff, Jasmine Trias, La Toya London, Amy Adams, Camile Velasco, Jennifer Hudson, John Stevens and Jon Peter Lewis.

[Note: The following tour dates have been provided by artist and/or tour sources, who verify its accuracy as of the publication time of this story. Changes may occur before tickets go on sale. Check with official artist websites, ticketing sources and venues for late updates.]

"American Idols Live"

July 2004
14 - Salt Lake City, UT - Delta Center
16 - Portland, OR - Rose Garden Arena
17 - Everett, WA - Everett Events Center
20 - Fargo, ND - Fargodome
21 - Saint Paul, MN - Xcel Energy Center
22 - Milwaukee, WI - Bradley Center
24 - Ames, IA - Hilton Coliseum
25 - Moline, IL - Mark of the Quad Cities
27 - Grand Rapids, MI - Van Andel Arena
28 - Detroit, MI - Joe Louis Arena
29 - Cleveland, OH - CSU Convocation Center
31 - Columbus, OH - Schottenstein Center

August 2004
1 - Indianapolis, IN - Conseco Fieldhouse
3 - Evansville, IN - Roberts Stadium
4 - Cincinnati, OH - U.S. Bank Arena
5 - Chicago, IL - United Center
7 - Omaha, NE - Qwest Center Omaha
10 - Grand Prairie, TX - Nokia Live
11 - New Orleans, LA - New Orleans Arena
13 - North Little Rock, AR - Alltel Arena
14 - Nashville, TN - Gaylord Entertainment Center
15 - Atlanta, GA - Philips Arena
17 - Sunrise, FL - Office Depot Center
18 - Jacksonville, FL - Veterans Memorial Arena
20 - Columbia, SC - Colonial Center
21 - Winston-Salem, NC - Veterans Memorial Coliseum
22 - Washington, DC - MCI Center
24 - Worcester, MA - Worcester's Centrum Centre
27 - Philadelphia, PA - Wachovia Center
28 - Hartford, CT - Hartford Civic Center
29 - East Rutherford, NJ - Continental Airlines Arena
31 - Uniondale, NY - Nassau Coliseum

September 2004
2 - Albany, NY - Pepsi Arena
4 - Wilkes-Barre, PA - Wachovia Arena
5 - Hershey, PA - Giant Center
9 - Pittsburgh, PA - Mellon Arena
10 - Reading, PA - Sovereign Center
11 - Manchester, NH - Verizon Wireless Arena
12 - Providence, RI - Dunkin Donuts Civic Center
14 - Buffalo, NY - HSBC Arena
15 - Ottawa, Ontario - Corel Centre
16 - Toronto, Ontario - Air Canada Centre
18 - Green Bay, WI - Resch Center
19 - Saint Louis, MO - Savvis Center
23 - Anaheim, CA - Arrowhead Pond
24 - Bakersfield, CA - Centennial Garden
25 - Fresno, CA - Save Mart Center
26 - San Jose, CA - HP Pavilion