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American Idol: Kris Allen, Adam Lambert & the Gang Dish on the Summer Tour

From who's singing what to who calls herself the "skanky one," we have the scoop from the top 10 on the season's hottest concert trek

By Carrie Borzillo-Vrenna Jul 01, 2009 4:10 PMTags
American Idol, Top 10Ray Mickshaw / FOX

As the American Idol top 10 rehearse day and night to get ready for their first tour, which kicks off Sunday, July 5 in Portland, Ore., one little logistical thing is bugging the boys.

"The guys' tour bus is overcrowded. There's only one bus for the boys and there are seven of us, and no, Adam and Kris don't get their own bus," Scott MacIntyre told us when we caught up with them at rehearsals last week. Before you think he's a squeaky wheel, all six of the other guys echoed that sentiment. Michael Sarver said, "I'm not gonna lie. I just wish it was part of the budget to have a third bus. It's like the testosterone tour this year. No one is looking forward to the cramped boys' bus."

Indeed, the girls have it easier with just three female contestants, a mom and a backup singer or two. "We got lucky," joked Allison Iraheta. "I feel bad for them!"

Read on to find out which contestant calls herself the "skanky one," which one disses the judges, which one has one tiny regret and what the American Idols Live Tour 2009 is going to sound like...

Michael Sarver: "The order of performances goes in the order of elimination. So, since I was the first of the top 10 to be eliminated, I'm opening the show. And the higher you got in the competition, the more songs you get to do in your own set. I think it's the best spot of the night because you get all that fresh energy from the crowd and you get to introduce the whole show. I need to get them on their feet and energized. I'm doing two songs I didn't do on the show, but I don't want to spoil it."

Megan Joy: "One song I'm doing is Amy Winehouse's 'Tears Dry on their Own.' It'll be jamsy [sic]. And my color is pink. I'm wearing a supertight, super minidress. I'm gonna be the skanky one. It's going to be fun."

Scott MacIntyre: "My set is going to be along the lines of singer-songwriter, pop-rock, British pop and very acoustic rock. But I'm planning on getting everyone singing. I will be using the piano in a major way on the tour."

Matt Giraud: "My Twitter fans wanted me to do 'Georgia on My Mind' [made famous by Ray Charles], and I listen to them, so that's one of my songs. What's great about this tour is that we have choreographers now for our own individual sets. We should've had that one the show. I didn't have the coolest moves like some people on the show."

Anoop Desai: "My set goes from ballads to [Bobby Brown's] 'My Prerogative,' but it'll be cooler than how I did it on the show. I'm embarrassed when I look back at that performance. This will be more refined. I like bigger crowds. I just don't like four people sitting at a table talking to each other while I'm singing. So yeah, I'm looking forward to the bigger crowds. It'll be nice to sing without having to worry about camera blocking."

Lil Rounds: "My set is the party set. You gotta have your dancing shoes on for my set. I'm doing the leading ladies of R&B. I have choreography and dancing. I've been told my set is one of the harder sets to do vocally as well as moving-around-wise. We all picked songs based on who we are trying to be as an artist."

Allison Iraheta: "I'm doing three songs. One is one from the show, [Janis Joplin's] 'Cry Baby.' I really enjoyed doing that one so much. My set is rock. I'm gonna be sweating. After rehearsal the other day, Kris gave me a hug and he was like, 'ewww.' My shirt was soaked in sweat. It was funny. So, yeah, I'll be the sweaty one on tour."

Danny Gokey: "I'm excited to do the full version of Michael Jackson's 'P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)' because I only got to do about a minute and 45 seconds on the show. I'm doing four songs. It starts with 'P.Y.T.' then I do a song with a Latin feel to it. The third song is a heartfelt ballad, and the last song is the inspirational song 'My Wish' by Rascal Flatts. I want to end my set inspiring people. The song talks about living life without regrets, enjoying it for what it is and not being held down by personal tragedies."

Adam Lambert: As we reported this week, Adam said, "I'm closing with a David Bowie medley that goes from 'Life on Mars" into 'Fame' into 'Let's Dance.' It's doing major justice to the original Bowie intention behind them, but we're adding synthy, dancey electronic elements to it. I'm wearing a custom-made blue, metallic silver bomber jacket with tails and spikes and studs by Skin Graft. They've hooked me up with some really sick fashion."

Kris Allen: "Because I go last, I have nothing to do until later, but I'm so weird I'll probably be watching from the wings anyway. I'm doing some songs from the show. I can say one: 'Hey Jude' by the Beatles. It's gonna be huge. I do five songs."

Group Numbers: One of the group numbers will be Journey's "Don't Stop Believing." Matt added, "We've classed up the group numbers. We have cool moves now. They're not as cheesy as the group performances we did on the show." (Thank God for that!)

For the list of tour dates, to go www.americanidol.com.

Are you going to the show? How does the set list sound so far?