Billboard reports that Tamyra Gray, the fourth-place finisher in American Idol 1, will appear as a "special guest" on most dates of the American Idol 3 national tour, which starts in mid-July and ends in September.
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Tamyra, the co-lyricist of Idol 3 winner Fantasia's #1 hit 'I Believe,' will be performing songs from her album The Dreamer. The album, which is the initial release on Idol creator Simon Fuller's 19 Records (distributed through Universal), has posted disappointing sales figures, with only about 90,000 units sold to date. According to Nielsen SoundScan, The Dreamer is no longer among the top 200 best-selling albums in the U.S.
This unprecedented promotion for a former Idol contestant indicates that Simon Fuller is unwilling to admit that RCA Music Group head Clive Davis may have been right in his decision to pass on signing Tamyra ... or perhaps he is determined that Tamyra's CD will outsell Idol 1 runner-up Justin Guarini's, which has yet to reach 150,000 units.
Other participants on the Idol 3 tour include ten of the twelve finalists: Fantasia, Diana DeGarmo, Jasmine Trias, LaToya London, George Huff, John Stevens, Jennifer Hudson, Jon Peter Lewis, Camile Velasco and Amy Adams. Left out in the cold are the first two finalists to be eliminated, Leah Labelle and Matthew Rogers.
According to the new tour schedule, Tamyra will appear as a special guest at all but seven of the Idol 3 concerts. She will miss the tour's opener in Salt Lake City on July 14, Portland, Oregon on July 16, Columbus, Ohio on July 31, Nashville on Aug. 14, Atlanta on Aug. 15, Green Bay on Sept. 18, and St. Louis on Sept. 19. However, she will be featured at all the other dates, including the final three in Honolulu on Sept. 28-30.