Print
Email
Comment
Facebook
Digg this
March 24, 2008 at 03:34:00 PM | more stories by this author
Brit plans first stateside tour in 17 years, calling it a "way of saying thank you to everybody before I move on."
George Michael is ready for a new chapter in his career and is looking to his first US tour in 17 years to provide some closure.
George Michael
The veteran singer unveiled his US tour plans today, calling it a "rounding off" of the first phase of his career.
"I don't want to do anything on this scale again," Michael, 44, told USA Today. "No more stadiums. I'd like to be the Tony Bennett for my generation."
The 21-date outing will kick off at the San Diego Sports Arena and conclude at the Bank Atlantic Center in Sunrise, Florida, with two shows at Madison Square Garden in New York City along the way. The arena tour will showcase songs from his album Twenty-Five, out April 1 and featuring duets with Mary J. Blige and Paul McCartney.
Disturbed by the decline of CD sales and the popularity of talent shows like American Idol taking the passion out of pop music, Michael told the paper, "It's the end of a certain era, and I'm not sure how much I really want to be a part of what's next. So, it's a kind of a way of saying thank you to everybody before I move on."
Michael has been touring extensively in the UK and Europe in recent years, and was critical of his performances on that tour. The UK tour was "too much of a party to represent what I've done," he told the paper.
As he prepares to head stateside, "there are some improvements I can really make to the show. If I have anything to do with it, they're going to see the best show of their lives."
Tickets will go on sale Tuesday exclusively via an iTunes package. Tour tickets will be available elsewhere beginning the weekend of April 5.
George Michael tour dates:
6/17: San Diego/San Diego Sports Arena
6/19: San Jose, Calif./HP Pavilion
6/21: Las Vegas/MGM Grand
6/22: Phoenix/US Airways Center
6/25: Los Angeles/Great Western Forum
7/2: Seattle/Key Arena
7/4: Vancouver/General Motors Place
7/7: St. Paul/Xcel Energy Center
7/9: Chicago/United Center
7/13: Dallas/American Airlines Center
7/14: Houston/Toyota Center
7/17: Toronto/Air Canada Centre
7/18: Montreal/Bell Centre
7/21 & 23: New York/Madison Square Garden
7/26: Philadelphia/Wachovia Center
7/27: Boston/TD Banknorth Garden
7/29: Washington, D.C./Verizon Center
7/31: Atlanta/Philips Arena
8/2: Tampa/St. Pete Times Forum
8/3: Sunrise, Fla./Bank Atlantic Center
