'Idol' announces Season 8 audition sites

Eight cities will be overflowing with thousands of Idol hopefuls this summer as auditions for Season 8 of the phenomenon will be taking place from July 17 to Aug. 19, according to an official posting on Idol's Web Site. The lineup includes a few usual suspects like San Francisco and East Rutherford, N.J. (for all intents and purposes, New York City), but there are a few newcomers as well. The most notable locale is San Juan, Puerto Rico, the first audition city outside of the continental United States since Honolulu, Hawaii, in Season 3.

A trio of cities look like they were influenced by two recent notable finalists - Phoenix, Ariz., near Jordin Sparks' hometown of Glendale - Salt Lake City, Utah, near David Archuleta's hometown of Murray - and Kansas City, Mo., basically a stone's throw from David Cook's hometown of Blue Springs. A full schedule of audition cities and dates can be found below:

Thurs., July 17
San Francisco, CA
The Cow Palace

Mon., July 21
Louisville, KY
Freedom Hall

Fri., July 25
Phoenix, AZ
Jobing.com Arena

Tue., July 29
Salt Lake City, UT
EnergySolutions Arena

Sat., Aug. 2
San Juan, Puerto Rico
Coliseo de Puerto Rico

Fri., Aug. 8
Kansas City, MO
Sprint Center

Wed., Aug. 13
Jacksonville, FL
Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena

Tue., Aug. 19
East Rutherford, NJ
IZOD Center at the Meadowlands