American Idol Live Tour 2011 Update – Scotty Rules, Durbin Rocks “Guns and Roses” – Video

For all you American Idol fans who thought this year’s shows ended too soon you still have a chance to see your favorite idol live in concert in one of their 47 concert shows that run through September.

The 2011 Summer American Idol Live Tour kicked off last week in West Valley City Utah and all indications are that producers have put together one heck of a show.

The show rundown seems pretty well mixed between individual numbers and lots of duets, and crescendos with a group performance at the end.

Hard rocker James Durbin gets the crowd warmed up with Guns and Roses “Sweet Child of Mine before the entire ensemble bounces in and out doing individual and small group numbers.

Watch James Durbin Sing Sweet Child of Mine Live


Our spy’s on the inside say that Pia Toscano and Stefano Langone do a duet of Rihanna’s "California King Bed”, and Casey Abrams hits it out of the park with a version of Santana's "Smooth" while playing his signature stand-up bass.

All the girls join together for a tribute to Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way”, and of course runner up Lauren Elaina gets the stage to herself for “Like my Mother Does.”

Related: Lauren Elaina sings “Like My Mother Does” - Video

Hailey Reinhart also gets a moment alone on stage for Elton John’s “Benny and the Jets”, and Pia Toscano blows away the crowd with “Empire State of Mind.”

Watch Idol Live Show Compilation Concert Video


Leading off for the guys is veteran singer Paul McDonald with his version of Rod Stewarts “Maggie Mae” followed by heart-throb Stefano Langone playing the piano while performing Bruno Mars “Grenade.”

Watch Paul McDonald Sing Maggie Mae Live


After a few mare solos, all the guys join on stage for a group rendition of “Animal” by Neon Trees. This was probably the worst and most awkward performance of the night.

But one of the best performances, and the one wanted by the crowd, was by odd man Casey Abrams who brought out his standup bass to croon to Santana’s “Smooth.”

Watch Casey Abrams sing Santana's "Smooth" Live


Once Casey hit the stage you could definitely hear a change in the tone of the crowd – they started to really get into the groove and as you know, Casey has that unusual groove that plays out well in front of an arena crowd.

After a short intermission Thia Megia belted out “Who Says” by Selena Gomez and Stefano brings out the rest of the girls for Usher’s “DJ Got Us Falling in Love.”

James Durbin gets the crowd wound up again with “Uprising” by Muse before Jacob Lusk performs “Never Too Much” by Luther Vandross, and then is joined by Pia, Naima and Stefano for “You’re All I Need To Get By” by Marvin Gaye.

Related: American Idol Jacob Lusk Arrested

And then it happens.

Scotty McCreery comes on stage for a group number and the crowed explodes. Scotty then starts his own private little musical set and gets the crowd on their feet with Josh Turner's "Your Man.”

Watch Scotty McCreery sing "Your Man"


McCreery follows with “Are You Going to Kiss Me or Not” by Thompson Square before launching into his hot single “I Love You This Big.”

Watch Scotty sing "I Love You This Big"


The crowd goes wild.

Scotty then joins with Lauren for a duet of “When You Say Nothing At All” by Alison Krause before the entire ensemble comes back on stage for the huge finale.

Watch American Idol Live Tour 2011 Group Finale


The American Idol Live Tour 2011 has only just started and tickets are still available for Los Angeles, Ontario, Phoenix, Oklahoma City, Grand Prairie, Houston, New Orleans, Orlando, Duluth, Raleigh, Charlotte, Nashville, St. Louis, Kansas City, Minneapolis, Milwaukee, Rosemont, Detroit, Columbus, Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Atlantic City, Newark, Philadelphia, and Washington DC.

As for next season, the American Idol producers have already hit the road for Idol season 11 auditions in Pittsburg, Detroit, Denver, St. Louis, Portland, and San Diego.

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Jennifer Lopez Announcing Return to American Idol for Season 11

Well, it sounds like the whole gang of judges will be returning for season 11 of American Idol.

We knew Steven Tyler was under a multi-year contract, and Randy Jackson has already told the media he would be back, and we all knew Ryan Seacrest wasn't going anywhere.

The only hold-out seemed to be Jennifer Lopez.

She had recently told reporters that she was “on the fence” about returning for season 11 and had not made up her mind yet saying,

"I had an amazing time doing it and I loved it, but I have a lot of other things happening, and it's going to come down to making a choice of really what I want to do for the next year. We're not really at the breaking point of 'You have to make a decision right now!' So I'm not.”

But today, E! News Online is reporting that Lopez will be making an announcement as soon as this week that she will be returning as a judge on American Idol season 11.

That’s good news.

Jennifer was a great addition as was Steven Tyler, and losing her after just a year would have been a blow to the show.

Some insiders say she was holding out for more money – asking for $20 million per season instead of her $12 million she got her first year.

But all you have to do is look at her schedule to see that this woman is as busy as it gets and fitting Idol into her schedule really is going to be difficult.

Lopez and her husband Marc Anthony are producing a Latin American singing competition show called Que Viva that has consumed a great amount of her time this summer.

She has also just been cast alongside Cameron Diaz in the romantic comedy “What to Expect When You’re Expecting”.

The movie is scheduled to start filming in 2011 with a 2012 Mother’s Day release date and will follow the lives of four couples as they prepare to become parents.

Lopez is also currently filming the animated comedy “Ice Age: Continental Drift” with Ray Romano, Queen Latifah, Denis Leary, John Leguizamo, Aziz Ansari, and comedian Wanda Sykes.

The movie is currently being filmed and has a projected release date of July 13, 2012. Plot details are top secret but producers have released the following “Ice Age 4” trailer.

Watch Ice Age Continental Drift Movie Trailer


And if those projects aren’t enough to keep J-Lo busy she is also preparing to star alongside Jason Statham in the movie “Parker” - a crime thriller centered on a thief who lives by a code of honor that includes never stealing money from people who need it.

While "Parker", with a $25 million production budget is still in pre-production, it is slated for release sometime on 2012 which means Lopez will need to find time over the next 10 months for filming.

And don't forget, Lopez also has a very active singing career going full tilt.

Whew… Now I can see why she was on the fence!

We’re glad she decided to come back for another season of American Idol and look forward to another year as exciting as last year’s revamped improvement.

Funny, we didn’t miss Simon Cowell for a minute.

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