‘Idol’ tour soldiers on in shrunken form

As recently as 2011, “American Idol” was America’s most popular TV show, likely the last program that will ever average 30 million viewers a week given how splintered audiences have become.

Today, “Idol” isn’t even the most popular singing competition show, averaging about 9 million viewers a week this past season. That honor goes to NBC’s “The Voice.”

But Fox has given the aging show a 14th season, and top contestants from season 13 provide a victory lap of sorts at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre on Thursday, its 20th stop on a 40-city tour.

In years past when “Idol” used to stop at Gwinnett Arena, the show would sell out weeks in advance. Demand is significantly slacker now, with orchestra seats readily available days before the concert.

One contestant, an Alabama country singer named Dexter Roberts, dropped out of the tour earlier this month without any clear explanation. And the tour has mostly booked smaller venues than in the past and nixed a live band to save money.

But for the shrinking battalion of fans who have stuck with the show, this season 13 crew was significantly more entertaining than the moribund season 12 talent. This current judge trio of Jennifer Lopez, Keith Urban and Harry Connick Jr. shaped a diverse final 10 that included old-school hard rock (winner Caleb Johnson), dance-tinged pop (runner-up Jena Irene), folksy singer-songwriter fare (third place Alex Preston) and soulful country (sixth place C.J. Harris).

“We’re all pretty bummed we don’t have a band,” Irene said in a phone interview from a tour stop in Sarasota, Fla., last week. “We do the best with what we have. I play the piano for my second song. I asked for no backing track. And Alex comes out to play drums on my third song. It’s fun.”

The 18-year-old, who has not yet signed a recording contract but expects to do so this fall, said she’s “having a blast.”

In a recent review of a tour stop in New Jersey, the Hollywood Reporter said Irene “looks like she belongs in an arena. The Michigan teen has that extra star power that manages to connect with the audience with a smile and a wave.”

The set list for the show features mostly current songs by the likes of Avicii, Pink, Bruno Mars, Ed Sheeran and OneRepublic. But for fans appreciative of classic rock, there are covers of tunes by the Rolling Stones, the Guess Who, Led Zeppelin and Paul McCartney.