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Already in need of a David Cook or David Archuleta fix? We understand.

Here's where you can catch season seven's finalists on tour this summer:

July 1  -  Glendale, AZ  -  jobing.com Arena
July 2  -  San Diego, CA  -  San Diego Sports Arena
July 3  -  Fresno, CA  -  SaveMart Center
July 5  -  Las Vegas, NV  -  Thomas & Mack Center
July 7  -  Los Angeles, CA  -  Staples Center
July 8  -  San Jose, CA  -  HP Pavilion at San Jose
July 9  -  Sacramento, CA  -  ARCO Arena
July 11      -  Portland, OR  -  Rose Garden
July 12      -  Tacoma, WA  -  Tacoma Dome
July 14      -  West Valley City, UT  -  The "E" Center
July 15  -  West Valley City, UT  -  The "E" Center
July 18      -  St. Louis, MO  -  Scottrade Center
July 19      -  Rosemont, IL  -  Allstate Arena
July 20  -  Columbus, OH  -  Schottenstein Center
July 22  -  Indianapolis, IN  -  Conseco Fieldhouse
July 23  -  Cincinnati, OH  -  US Bank Arena

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Hours before the crucial semifinal performances air tonight, we have a simple question for readers:

Who do you wanna see win American Idol this season?

Write in and let us know your favorite: David Archulea, David Cook or Syesha Mercado?

The American Idol judges and host - Paula Abdul, Randy Jackson, Simon Cowell and Ryan Seacrest - recently opened up to USA Today about their most memorable seasons, moments and contestants from the show's first six years.

As you get ready for the seventh season premiere tomorrow night, check out a few highlights from the past:

Best season: Simon: Season 1, 2 (because of the Clay-Ruben competition)
Paula: Seasons 4 and 5
Randy: Season 3. "I must say the season with all the 'Dreamgirls' " (Fantasia, Jennifer Hudson and La Toya London).
Ryan: "Whichever was the highest-rated one."

Worst finals singer:
Simon: Sanjaya Malakar
Paula: Sanjaya, Kevin Covais
Ryan: "Sanjaya wasn't the best singer, was he? He went the furthest without the best voice."

Singer with most disappointing career:
Simon & Ryan: Tamyra Gray
Paula: Katharine McPhee

Best performance by a finalist:
Simon: Fantasia, Summertime
Randy: "Hands down, Summertime by Fantasia Barrino. She raised the roof."
Paula: Fantasia, Summertime; Carrie Underwood, Alone by Heart; Blake Lewis, beatboxing to Bon Jovi's You Give Love a Bad Name; Clay Aiken, Bridge Over Troubled Water

To check out all the memories of the American Idol crew, follow our link now.

American Idol will be honored as part of the creative arts ceremony at the Emmys for its fundraising effort, “Idol Gives Back.”

As part of the off-air portion of the Emmy program, our favorite reality TV show will be presented with a special governors award for the innovative effort that helped to around $70 million for societies struggling with poverty.

The effort was billed as a star studded mid-season surprise by the $26, 3 producers. It proved to be a wild success. Co-hosted by Ryan Seacrest and Ellen DeGeneres, the special ran during the April 23 and April 24 timeslots for American Idol.

Seacrest and Simon Cowell toured areas - in Africa and across the nation - stricken by the horrors of poverty. They called on the American Idol audience, one of the largest television audiences in the world, to pitch in to help. The results were nothing short of amazing.

Here's a look at how American Idol artists are faring on the Top 40chart, courtesy of USA Today...

• Daughtry and "Home" are still thriving, moving from No. 4 to No. 3.

• Elliott Yamin, Wait for You" is just shy of the top 10, moving 12 to 11.

• Carrie Underwood, "Before He Cheats," is falling on this chart, 10-12, but has been an impressive crossover hit for her.

• Not so impressive is Kelly Clarkson and "Never Again," which drops a spot to number-28 and is pretty much dead in the water on this format.

 Carrie Underwood and Kevin Eubanks have been named the "world's sexiest vegetarians" in PETA's annual contest.

Underwood, 24, a Grammy-winning country singer, won the title in 2005. Eubanks, 49, leader of NBC's "Tonight Show" band, is a newcomer to the winner's circle.

Eubanks leapt ahead of his competitors with help from Jay Leno, who encouraged viewers to vote for Eubanks and "bring honor" to the late-night NBC talk show.

"I'm gonna keep this campaign going," Leno said during a recent show after sharing a photo of a shirtless Eubanks with his audience. Leno said the shot, in which Eubanks is holding a backpack and posing against a woodsy backdrop, wasn't doctored.

Runners-up in the contest, which the animal rights group said drew more than 110,000 votes on its Web site, included Joaquin Phoenix, Milo Ventimiglia, Kristen Bell, Bryce Dallas Howard, Jared Leto and Lisa Edelstein.

With a new book on the shelves, Mandisa recently sat down with Blogcritics Magazine. Here are highlights of the interview:

What is your passion in life?
My passion in life is to have a life on purpose, to make a difference. I’d like to be an example to those living with no reason.

What do you want the world to know most about you?
I serve a God who has saved me, redeemed me, and given my life purpose. I want to show people the joy that comes from living a life serving Jesus.

Your book, IDOLeyes, and your upcoming album, True Beauty, both send the world two messages. The first is that your struggle with weight has been the biggest struggle of your life. And the second — your faith as a Christian has taken you out of a comfort zone and put you into the ring of light. In what way do you wish to impact the world of overweight women?
My message is twofold: Our bodies are temples, and we have to take care of them. This is a day to day struggle for me, and I overcome it meal by meal. It took me 30 years to get to this point. My weight will not disappear overnight. Whenever I face temptation, and overcome it, this allows me to overcome further temptation.

Second, we will not allow society to dictate who is beautiful. My beauty comes from within, and I will not put my life on hold until I’m a size 5. I live my life full force every day.

As a Christian artist in the 21st century, what lions are you facing?
There have been many who have come before me that have represented the Lord and who have condemned others. I have a relationship with Jesus, I don’t judge or condemn. We’ll all face a judge at the end of life. His name will not be Mandisa. He has given me joy, and it’s been amazing. I want them to know what I know — God is good all the time.

How does your faith help you overcome your weight issues?
When I face temptation, I rely on strength not my own. I quote Scripture when driving by Krispy Kreme. God provides a way out when tempted, through His word and prayer. He gives me the ability to get through this struggle.

Do you have a trainer?
No, but I have an exercise room in my house.

What do you eat?
I’ve been on many diets; I know what to do, fruits and veggies, no white flour or sugar. During some situations I choose poorly. I’m an emotional eater — it absolutely is an addiction. My substance is food. For others it’s drugs or alcohol. My automatic propensity is to turn to food. Now, I turn to the Comforter instead.

Where do you wish to be in five years?
I love where I am right now. My life has purpose, I love my friends and family. In five years I’d like to be the picture of health. I’m thirty years old, I’d like this to be reflected on the outside as well.

Mediabase has provided some numbers to show the massive impact on radio airplay of American Idol since its debut six years ago. The blockbuster television show is now responsible for generating more than six million radio spins. This week alone, twelve former American Idol contestants are on the charts or close to making it on.

The airplay derby has been led by Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood, who have dominated the radio airplay charts in recent years among Idol alumni.

The winners of season one and four, respectively, have racked up an impressive four million plus radio spins between them. Others who have become household names include Fantasia, Josh Gracin, Ruben Studdard, Clay Aiken, Chris Daughtry and 2007 Oscar winner, Jennifer Hudson.

According to Mediabase, Clarkson has received a staggering 3.3 million spins since winning the American Idol title in its inaugural season. Underwood has amassed 725,000 spins, firmly entrenched in the number-two position, averaging more than 450,000 spins per year according to the radio monitoring firm.

“American Idol has become a dominant force in radio, particularly in the current driven formats,” said Mediabase President Rich Meyer. “The vast majority of radio programmers obviously feel that Clarkson and Underwood possess major star power and feel the same about a number of emerging Idol talent following in their footsteps.

Finalists like Chris Daughtry, Katharine McPhee, Josh Gracin and Kimberley Locke are bursting on to the scene in a big way with their new releases, and other contestants like Mario Vazquez and Clay Aiken have certainly been formidable forces in radio as well.”

Thank you to our friends at People magazine for this look at Jennifer Hudson on the red carpet.

As the former American Idol contestant prepares to probably take home an Oscar this weekend, we take a look at her styles on the red carpet throughout the awards season so far:

Signature Look: Figure-hugging dresses with deep V-necklines and shimmering fabrics. Hudson's hair is almost always wavy and loose, while her makeup tends toward berry lips and metallic shadows.Favorite Designers: The star has designer-hopped, wearing Vera Wang, Donna Karan and Prada to recent events. Shoes are often by Stuart Weitzman, with diamonds by Neil Lane.

What She Will Wear: According to an article in Vogue written by editor-at-large Andre Leon Tally, who is styling the star, Hudson will most likely wear Oscar de la Renta.

If viewers are to take American Idol at its word, Wednesday’s episode was a public service announcement of sorts. The point of the extra-special bonus episode was not only to highlight more of the best and worst auditioners, but also to show how to succeed on Idol without really trying.

The show offered six steps to consider, some more obvious than others. The trick is, most of the advice was tongue-in-cheek. Follow it and a contestant might get on TV — but probably not a ticket to Hollywood.

For example, the first step — or “The Look.” As Ryan Seacrest explained in his voice-over, “In a sea of 100,000, it us very easy to get lost. A snappy little outfit might be just what you need to stand out.”

Of course, standing out might get a contestant on the show to be mocked, but costumed people tend not to have a high success rate of actually advancing.

Christa Fazzino showed up in a funky outfit that extolled her individuality, but uniqueness in fashion sense isn’t what the judges are interested in. She got her few minutes of airtime — but she ultimately also got the boot.

As a counterpoint to that, the show brought out Tami Gosnell, a Colorado native who didn’t show up in costume, didn’t have a particularly fantastic personality, and didn’t look like a candidate for the cover of teen magazines even after a makeover. One mitigating factor was in her favor: She could sing.

Her rendition of “Whipping Post” proved that, as Ryan conceded, “mad skills” outweigh the need to play dress-up.

The next lesson was to “Seek Inspiration,” with some predictable clips of Taylor Hicks wannabes. But the world doesn’t need more than one prematurely gray harmonica-playing pop singer, and therefore none of the imitators did very well.

On the other hand, Paul Kim (pictured), a Los Angeles pool boy, said he was inspired by William Hung, which sounds like a trainwreck waiting to happen. Instead, it was all good.

The inspiration came from wanting to show that an Asian could succeed on the show as something other than a good-natured joke, and he accomplished that with a strong performance that wowed the judges and got him a unanimous pass into the next round.

To read the rest of this MSNBC article, click here.