Looking ahead...

Two talented and gracious singers on the rise,
Elliott Yamin and Bucky Covington.
We'll see you both on the charts...

Here's a little round up of today's news--concert related and otherwise:

Wonder how a few others around the country fared on this first day of concert ticket sales? Here's a handy thread at Idolforums with some younger posters weighing in on their presale experiences. Looks like the advance word from MJ and the Rickey.org folks was correct--the tickets released so far were decent, but not spectacular. (Still a lot of happy campers in that IDF thread, though...)

Over at the official boards, Bucky's fans have posted threads by venue for the most part--there also seems to be a bit of helpful networking going on, with posters alerting others to good seats released in their areas. Might be smart to check in there now and again--a heads up on an upgrade is always welcome!

There may or may not be excellent seats held back for both the venue presales (mostly Friday for the AEG Live presales, with a few today--check the link to your venue for details) and the general public sale on Saturday. And of course, the radio stations are already doing giveaways--one lucky Bucky fan at the official boards won her seats today. (Free is an excellent price!)

If you're not sure which radio station to listen to for ticket giveaways, here's a list of CHR/Pop stations on the US; get on the mailing lists (yes, I know, I'm a spam-pusher), listen faithfully, and wait. Believe me, they'll let you know ad nauseam if they've got Idol tickets--or more--to give away. (One word of warning, though--a couple of those links go straight to email addresses of station personnel. Do not email any individuals you don't personally know at any radio station about Idol-related stuff, or they will hate you forever.) I'm only slightly kidding.

Radio stations are also the primary source for the coveted pre-show meet-and-greet passes--always a hot topic during the tour. From what I can gather, winning meet-and-greet passes from your local pop station is a test of endurance and dedication--and a little bit of general Idol trivia knowledge doesn't hurt, either. (Some stations will give them to the tenth caller; others want to make you work a little.)

If you don't want to sit by the radio 24/7, and you don't have "connections", there's always good old serendipity. There'll be an expanded post on meet and greets as more info comes in, but in the meantime, some experiences from past "greeters" might hold some clues; you can check out IDF posts from previous Idol tours here and over here and here, too. (Some of these are a hoot; others are a little bit...well, unusual. Enjoy!)

Last but not least--after a long drought, Bucky will be singing to us on live television in less than a week. (Yes!) With any luck, there'll be more info on the two-hour cheesefest American Idol finale show any moment now.

See you later today!