'Ticket boost' for Idol tour

Clay Aiken (left) beat winner Ruben Studdard to number one

The success of TV show American Idol has spread to music venues across the US, it has been reported.

Finalists from the second series will take part in a two-month tour and tickets are selling faster than last year's shows featuring stars of the first season, according to Billboard.com

Promoters said 23 of the 41 dates of the tour, which begins on 8 July, were already sold out, according to Billboard.

In 2002, just 10 of the total 30 dates sold out after interest waned when the TV show finished, Debra Rathwell of promoter AEG Live told the site.

"[This year], there was an extra week of Idol mania, and it helped build sales," she said.

A film starring last year's winner, Kelly Clarkson, has flopped

The final of American Idol 2 was watched by 38 million people, with 24 million public votes cast, in May.

Artists from the show currently hold the top two places in the US singles chart. Runner-up Clay Aiken is in the top spot with his version of Bridge Over Troubled Water.

He pushed winner Ruben Studdard into second place.

After releasing their singles on the same day, Studdard and Aiken will both release their debut albums on 19 August, Billboard reported.

A third series of American Idol is being planned for 2004 - but not all American Idol-related material turns to gold.

A film featuring the top two finalists from the first series, Kelly Clarkson and Justin Guarini, entered the box office chart at number 11, taking just $2.9m (£1.75m) at the weekend.