Phillip Phillips to Join Matchbox 20 On Tour in 2013!

Related: AMERICAN IDOL, FOX, REALITY TV, Phillip Phillips

American Idol Season 11 winner Phillip Phillips will kick off 2013 headlining a string of college dates followed by an opening slot on the Matchbox 20 tour (see below for complete itinerary). Phillips' debut album The World From The Side Of The Moon (19 Entertainment/Interscope Records) was released on November 19th and debuted at #4 on the Billboard Top 200 chart and at #1 on the Billboard Rock Album chart where it remains for a third week. Phillips' hit single "Home" sees sales over 2.6 million making it the most successful coronation song of any American Idol winner.

Phillips will perform "Home", which is currently #1 at AAA radio and breaks into the Top 10 at Top 40 radio at #9, on New Year's Eve Live on Fox broadcast live from Las Vegas' Mandalay Bay December 31st (11pm – 12:30 am ET live; CT/MT/PT tape delayed).

The press has lauded praise on Phillips' debut with Entertainment Weekly declaring The World From The Side Of The Moon as "the most relevant debut album the Idol machine has cranked out in years," and Newsday stating "As his smash 'Home' has shown, Phillips can't really miss, and his debut offers more like that -- in the catchy 'So Easy' and 'Can't Go Wrong.' Blogcritics.com says "From Phillips' signature raspy vocals to his intricate guitar playing and solid songwriting, The World from the Side of the Moon is a legitimate lead in towards long-term success for the Leesburg, Georgia native."

Phillips first began making music when he was 14, thanks largely to his older sister's boyfriend (and now husband), Ben Neil, who taught him how to play guitar. Phillips kept on studying guitar on his own ("mostly by playing along to the karaoke machine") and soon found himself mastering riffs from classic-rock tracks like Deep Purple's "Smoke on the Water" and Ozzy Osbourne's "Crazy Train." Several years later, Phillips formed an acoustic band with his sister and brother-in-law and added singing to his repertoire. After graduating high school, Phillips began studying industrial systems technology at Albany Technical College in Georgia and continued playing music with his brother-in-law. With encouragement from his family and friends, Phillips took a break from working in his family's pawn shop and auditioned for American Idol in summer 2011—and soon found himself tearing through powerful, full-throated performances of songs by artists like Creedence Clearwater Revival, Otis Redding, and Wilson Pickett on the Idol stage.

2013 College headline dates on sale now:

January 22 Springfield, MO Missouri State - MSU students only
January 25 Rolla, MO Missouri University of Science and Technology
January 27 Buffalo, NY Canisius College – closed private event

2013 dates with Matchbox 20 on sale now:

January 29 Catoosa, OK Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tulsa
January 30 San Antonio, TX Majestic Theatre
February 1 Thackerville, OK Winstar Casino
February 2 Longview, TX Belcher Performing Arts Center
February 5 Louisville, KY Louisville Palace
February 6 Normal, IL Braden Auditorium
February 8 Prior Lake, MN Mystic Lake Casino Hotel
February 9 Milwaukee, WI Riverside Theater
February 10 Des Moines, IA Des Moines Civic Center
February 12 Fort Wayne, IN Embassy Theatre
February 13 Kalamazoo, MI Miller Auditorium
February 15 Toledo, OH Stranahan Theatre
February 16 Columbus, OH Palace Theatre
February 17 Akron, OH Akron Civic Theater
February 19 Niagara Falls, ON Fallsview Casino Resort
February 20 Niagara Falls, ON Fallsview Casino Resort
February 21 Windsor, ON The Colosseum at Caesars
February 23 Atlantic City, NJ Borgata Spa & Resort - Event Center
February 25 Baltimore, MD Modell Performing Arts Center at the Lyric
February 26 Port Chester, NY The Capitol Theatre
February 27 Bethlehem, PA Sands Bethlehem Event Center