It followed in the tradition of other American Idol summer tours following the completion of each season in May.
Runner-up Katharine McPhee missed the first 17 shows of the tour due to voice illness (severe bronchitis and laryngitis). Her 1st show of the tour was scheduled to be on July 27 in Pittsburgh, PA but her flight from New York City to Pittsburgh was delayed and then later canceled due to bad weather.[1] When she finally did join the tour for the July 28 show in Washington D.C., she sang two solo numbers, which were "Black Horse and the Cherry Tree" and "Somewhere Over The Rainbow". She also participated in the group number "Living in America".[2]
At the August 1, 2006 concert in Charlotte, NC, McPhee suffered a hair-line fracture in her left foot after tripping backstage before going on. She then performed her 2 songs that night in bare feet (not in slipper-sandals or gardening slippers that had widely been reported) and was noticeably limping during the final group number. After the concert, she was taken to a hospital where the fracture was discovered. McPhee continued to perform on the American Idols Live Tour while wearing a cast on her left foot.
The first show without the foot cast was on August 22 in St. Paul, MN. Interesting to note, beginning with the Charlotte show, McPhee had performed barefoot at every concert on the tour.
Bucky Covington was absent from the August 13 performance at the Savvis Center in St. Louis due to an illness but did return.
