'Idol' odds 'n ends: American Idols Live! Tour 2010 dates revealed

The following are Idol-related odds and ends that happened this week:

>Since there are fans dying of anticipation ahead of this summer's "American Idols Live!" tour (yeah, right), the franchise decided to inform the world of the tour stops on Tuesday. The highlights of the tour? Besides the Top 10 finalists that will be contractually obligated to perform from July 1 until Sept. 14, some exciting stops include the Giant Center in Hershey, Pa., on July 15, the BOK Center in Tulsa, Okla., on Aug. 8 and the United Center in Chicago, Ill. on Aug. 30. A full list of tour dates reveals that 49 shows will be performed in 49 cities, including two Canadian locales.

Tickets go on sale beginning Fri., May 14, at 11 a.m., with the majority of them becoming available on Sat., May 15, at 10 a.m.

>It's as close to being official as possible: Kris Allen's second single will be "The Truth," the Toby Gad/Pat Monahan-penned ballad. Interestingly enough, Jive ordered the production of a version featuring the vocals of Monahan, the lead singer of Train, on the bridge, which will most likely be the version sent to radio. Listen to the redone version below:

Kris has yet to weigh in on the selection of "The Truth" as his second single, but regardless of what he thinks of it, he will be performing the song on the Idol finale. You can't ask for a bigger promotional opportunity than that.

>Jordin Sparks was in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday along with U.S. Transporation Secretary Ray LaHood and congressional members to raise awareness for Allstate's "X the TXT" campaign. Per the press release, Jordin said:

"Sending a text is not worth taking a life," said Grammy-nominated Jordin Sparks. "Unfortunately, it can be easy to forget the dangers of texting and driving when you get behind the wheel. That's why it is important for teens, their friends and families to acknowledge the risks and pledge together not to do it."

Jordin also appeared on FOX News Channel to promote awareness of the campaign, which can be watched below:



If you're up for contributing to Jordin's cause, be sure to pledge not to text while driving.

>Ryan Seacrest recently announced that he will lend his voice to a character in the upcoming Dreamworks release Shrek Forever After, and now we know what his character will look like. Only known as "father of Butter Pants," the character was revealed in a screencap posted on Ryan's official site on Wednesday as seen on the right. Per the post on Ryan's site:

Coincidentally, the pudgy character of Butter Pants is played by "Shrek" director Mike Mitchell who says the scene that Ryan appears in is indeed a "pivotal moment" in the storyline.

Ryan's voice talents will be heard in theaters nationwide beginning Fri., May 21.

>Katharine McPhee announced Thursday she has recorded a new version of her song "Terrified," which features the vocals of Chuck star Zachary Levi instead of co-writer Jason Reeves, who is featured on the album version and seems to be in "Camp Kara" when it comes to his allegiance judging by his recent performance of the song with Judge DioGuardi on Lopez Tonight. Of Levi, Kat said in an e-mail:

He is amazing and the new version is incredible. Next week you'll get to hear the song and there's a great video to go with it as well.

Presumably, the single will hit iTunes on Tuesday. You can already see a rough clip of the video, which will be airing in movie theaters nation wide as part of "Screenvision."