Idol Chatter & Voice Views

The American Idol summer tour will apparently kick off in early July with a healthy Phillip Phillips.

TMZ is reporting that the Season 11 champ underwent kidney surgery Wednesday that lasted six-and-one-half hours and removed kidney stones that Phillip couldn’t possibly pass without an operation.

American Idol and Phillip have repeatedly insisted that he’ll be healthy for the tour, which kicks off July 6 in Detroit and includes visits to the D.C. and Baltimore area about a month later.

But you had to wonder when the surgery was postponed last week because Phillip was running a fever. And again over the weekend when reports began to surface that Phillip would postpone surgery and rely on alternative treatments until after the Idol summer tour.

During the Idol finals, Phillip wasn’t well enough to participate in the weekly Ford video shoot.

The tour figures to be every bit as grueling as the show. I just checked the schedule and there’s one nine-day stretch where the Idol Top 10 will perform seven shows, five in various parts of California, one in Dallas and one in Glendale, Ariz.

Now, as long as Phillip can recuperate in a month, that shouldn’t be a concern.