Idol Chatter & Voice Views

A report by Hollywood Reporter today pretty much confirms what we all suspected.

The announcement late last week that American Idol was cancelling a quarter of its summer tour dates probably had more to do with pathetic ticket sales than scheduling conflicts.

Ticket resales for the Idol summer tour are down a whopping 347 percent from a year ago, the site reported.

The numbers come courtesy of StubHud, an online marketplace for ticket sellers owned by Ebay.

The next question: Is anyone shocked?

I mean, American Idol Season 12 featured one of the most talented Top 3’s in the show’s history.

It also featured one of the weakest cast of finalists ever in terms of depth.

Not to mention the complete absence of a charismatic male performer capable of drawing young ladies to a concert venue in droves.

I started wondering about how poorly the summer tour would do long before Candice Glover was crowned the Season 12 champ.

I started wondering about the time it became clear that Lazaro Arbos’ back-story was going to be much better than his singing.

I glance down the summer tour cast and I see three singers I wouldn’t mind seeing live — Candice, Angie Miller and Janelle Arthur.

And for that I’m going to plunk down $40 to $80 to attend a show during the summer tour?

Probably not. And I’m guessing lots of Idol fans are coming to the same conclusion.

The good news for avid Idol fans in this area is that none of the closest dates have been scratched.

The Idols will still play Newark, N.J., on Aug. 14 (tickets $45.45 to $80.05 with fees); Atlantic City, N.J. on Aug. 16 (tickets $42.80 to $78 with fees); and Reading on Aug. 24 (tickets $43.`5 to $77.45).

Of course, Baltimore and D.C. have been annual stops on the summer tour, and they weren’t even included on the initial list of 40 dates, let alone the scaled back tour.

The tour now doesn’t open until July 19 in Kent, Wash., about three weeks later than originally planned. The tour ends Aug. 31 in Nashville.

For the complete list of revised dates, go here.

Hey, look on the bright side.

Candice Glover will have more time to concentrate on that debut album, set for a mid-July release.