Have you always wondered: When is Backstreet Boy Howie D going to hit the road for his own tour around the sacred land of Israel? What, you have? Well, then it’s good that he is heading there this September and he wants some of his biggest fans to join him.

The singer has announced a Howie D-themed trek around Israel (yes, you read that right!), which includes a lot of face time with Mr. Dorough. What kind of face time, you’re wondering? Well, lucky fans will get dinners with him, tours of various tourist attractions alongside the singer and will even attend some events hosted by Howie. The lengthy trip to the country kicks off on September 2 and wraps up on September 11.

“All of my fans know I love to travel and learn about new cultures – especially trying new cuisines! So I’m excited to visit Israel (for the first time) with them!” Howie told MTV News in an exclusive statement. “We’ll absorb all of the history and I’ll personally have a once in a lifetime opportunity to perform my new music while we cruise the Sea of Galilee together. This is going to be an amazing experience that I get to share with true fans. This is going to be an unforgettable trip!”

Fans who want to learn more and buy tickets can visit the trip's website as well as Howie's personal site.

Howie is no stranger to hanging with fans in such an intimate way. Howie and his BSB crew host an annual cruise event where they play shuffle board, sing songs and hit up the buffets with their fans. Before he heads to Israel, he will meet up with his pals in NKOTBSB for a lengthy tour in Europe and Asia. He dropped his album, Back To Me, last year.

Earlier this week, the world’s collective boo, Jordan Knight, announced his plans to hit the road for a solo tour. The jaunt kicks off later this month, and in anticipation of what we are sure will be the greatest night of your life, the New Kid himself hopped on the phone with us to preview his tour plans.

“I have a full band; I have two dancers, so they’ll be some good choreography. It’ll be a real show. It’s not me just kind of going around taking up my time,” he teased. “And, it’s a real deal thing: a band, dancers, full-length show, a lot of excitement, a lot of crowd participation, singing a bunch of songs from the album Unfinished and also other solo songs as well from the past.”

Given the fact that Jordan has been busy touring with his boys in the New Kids On The Block and the Backstreet Boys, it would seem like he might want to chill out for a bit, but that’s not the case. At all. “I think I had to do it because I did an album and I never got the chance to go out and actually perform the songs. I did it at after parties, but that was just off-the-cuff,” he said. “I wanted to do a real show because I put so much into the album and the songs I believe are so great and I got such a great response from the fans, so it's the fans [who] really kind of cheered me on to do it. They really wanted me to do it.”

With several dates already on the docket, Jordan does want to expand it a bit more before his spring European tour with NKOTBSB. “I plan on doing Philly, New York, Ohio, the West Coast, Vegas. It’ll be like a 20-city run. I’m gonna hit a lot of places,” he said. “I wanted to do 40 dates, but I didn’t have the time. Maybe next fall I’ll pick up again.”

We plan to hold him to that!

Consider our tickets bought! Jordan Knight has announced plans for a solo tour this month.

The New Kid on the Block will kick off the 10-date excursion on January 26 in Minneapolis before taking the act to such lucky cities as Atlanta, Nashville and Toronto, to name a few. Billed as “Jordan Knight: Live & Unfinished,” the singer opened up about the trek in a statement.

“I am very proud and excited to tell you that Jordan Knight Live & Unfinished will be hitting hand-picked cities across North America for an intimate evening of Music, Fun, and More! After the amazing NKOTBSB Arena Tour this past year, I feel truly blessed that I now have the time to get up close and personal with you, my fans, and sing these songs that mean so much to me!” he said. “You've all played such a big part in making this album a success so I can't think of a better way of saying THANK YOU, than to give you what you have asked for - Jordan Knight: Live & Unfinished!!”

Last year, the falsetto-loving Jordan released his solo album, Unfinished, and later this spring he’ll hit the road again with all his pals in NKOTBSB for all those lucky folks who live abroad. Did we mention we’ve also bought our plane tickets so that we can hit up the guys’ European tour?

Will you go see Jordan's tour? Let us know in the comments!

By Zachary Swickey

It wasn’t the craziest thing in the world when Icelandic vocal goddess Bjork’s long-awaited new album Biophilia was released as a series of apps on Apple’s iPad – this is a woman who wore a swan dress to the Oscars, after all – and the crazy/awesome/unique appeal doesn’t end there as her just-announced residency of ten dates in New York City is expected to feature a special production unlike anything we’ve ever seen before.

Beginning in early February, Bjork will set up shop at the New York Hall of Science for six shows, while another four will take place at the Roseland Ballroom. Of course, she’s bringing along some wildly unique instrumentation to pull off her multitude of sounds. I don’t recall ever seeing a 10-foot pendulum harp, twin musical tesla coils or a midi-controlled pipe organ at the local Guitar Center, so this is a do-not-miss show for lucky NYC-area residents. On top of all that, Bjork will also be bringing along an award-winning 24-piece Icelandic female choir and app developer Max Weisel to help display visuals from the official Biophilia app onstage.

Bjork’s stateside return will also see her collaborating with the New York Hall of Science for a three-week-long education series based on Biophilia. The series will feature interactive science and music workshops for middle-school children and leads students on an intensive study of the scientific concepts at the core of Biohphilia’s songs, including crystalline structures, lunar phases and viruses.

The project is inspired by and explores the relationships between musical structures and natural phenomena, from the atomic to the cosmic. The press release even boasts that the program has already been incorporated in the school syllabus of Bjork’s motherland, Iceland. Looks like us “adults” will miss out on all that fun.

Tickets for the tour go on sale January 13 at through Ticketmaster.

Tonight, Motor City welcomes Grammy-nominated Swedish producer/DJ Avicii and manager "Ash" Pournouri as they kick off their "House for Hunger" tour in the US – it's the first of 26 stops in just 27 days. As part of a personal mission to combat American hunger and give back to a nation that they feel has provided them with so much support over the past year, Avicii and Ash will personally donate $1 million of their tour revenue to Feeding America, the nation’s largest hunger-relief organization. Earlier this week, MTV News sat down with Avicii and Ash to discuss the drive behind their generous donation.

“When he [Ash] approached me with the idea is just felt really natural, especially to do it in the states because for me personally it’s given me so many experiences and good times,” said Avicii, who was one of MTV's Best EDM Artists of 2011. “It felt like giving something back to a country that’s given me so much.”

Ash explained that news of the recession had initially opened their eyes to the problem, but that they weren’t fully aware that millions of Americas still face hunger issues on a day-to-day basis. Read on for more and to see if the tour is stopping through your town!

“As the recession hit, over in Europe you hear about how the situation is bad with jobs disappearing, people losing their homes and stuff like that, and you think it’s really bad but then that hit everywhere,” Ash told MTV News. "Then when we get to the US and read the real news from the country, we see that it’s actually far worse than that. People send their kids off hungry to school and it appears to be something other than the land of prosperity that you hear about over in Europe and the idea that you have of America."

Feeding America supplies food to more than 37 million low-income individuals and families each year. The network hosts over 200 food banks that support 61,000 agencies nationwide. The donation will help provide approximately 8 million meals to those in need.

For more information about the "House For Hunger" January tour or to purchase tickets, visit http://houseforhunger.org.

Avicii's "House For Hunger" January 2012 Tour Dates:
January 5: The Fillmore in Detroit, MI
January 6: Epic Nightclub in Minneapolis, MN
January 7: The Rave in Milwaukee, WI
January 8: Stage AE Amphitheater in Pittsburgh, PA
January 9: Dartmouth College in Hanover, NH
January 10: The Pageant in St. Louis, MO
January 12: The Midland Theatre in Kansas City, MO
January 13: Boulder Theater in Boulder, CO
January 14: Reno Downtown Ballroom in Reno, NV
January 15: (Day Show) University of Arizona in Tucson, AZ
January 15: (Night Show) Phoenix Convention Center in Phoenix, AZ
January 16: Austin Music Hall in Austin, TX
January 17: Cowboys Dancehall in San Antonio, TX
January 18: Buchanan’s Event Center in El Paso, TX
January 19: Stereo Live in Houston, TX
January 20: The Palladium Ballroom in Dallas, TX
January 21: TBA
January 24: Orpheum Theatre in Madison, WI
January 25: Paramount Theatre in Seattle, WA
January 26: Main Street Armory in Rochester, NY
January 27: University of Central Florida in Orlando, FL
January 28: Coliseum of Puerto Rico in San Juan, Puerto Rico
January 29: Summit Series in Squaw Valley, CA
January 30: Ryan Center in Kingston, RI
January 31: Mullins Center in Amherst, MA

By Zachary Swickey

We already knew that U2 was going to set a new record for highest grossing tour of all time, and of course they have now officially done so – pulling in $293 million more bones this year alone (which means they could pretty much recreate Scrooge McDuck’s swimming pool of money in the real world) from 44 shows as Billboard reports in their list of the top-grossing tours of 2011.

While vets like U2, Bon Jovi, Roger Waters and Take That (Take Who?) take the four top spots, the younger generation of artists aren’t far behind in the money race with birthday girl Taylor Swift rounding out the top five (blowing away several big name acts like the Eagles and Journey who have apparently not stopped believin’). The country charmer grossed a staggering $97 million on her 89-date tour behind Speak Now … 87 of which were impressively sold-out!

Plenty of other MTV favorites managed to make the list. Read on to find out who!

With the help of Akon and Tinie Tempah as opening acts, Usher comes in at number seven with just under $75 million. Katy Perry’s long 2011 trek of 98 stops helped land her at number 13 with almost $49 million in revenue and audience attendance of just over a million fans catching the show. Lil Wayne only managed to sell out 14 of his 69 dates this year, but he still came in at number 14 with $46 milli. Justin Bieber only had to perform 35 gigs (27 of which sold out) to take the 15 spot with $44 million (which should help fund his affinity for expensive dates like renting out the Staples Center).

There were still a few surprises (people still go to see Iron Maiden?) like Britney Spears barely breaking the top twenty – bowing at number 19 with $39 million in grosses from her 39 shows. To put that in perspective, Lady Gaga appears at number 8 with $72 million from 45 shows – only six more than Brit.

Check out the Top 20 Touring Acts of 2011 below:
1. U2
2. Bon Jovi
3. Take That
4. Roger Waters
5. Taylor Swift
6. Kenny Chesney
7. Usher
8. Lady Gaga
9. André Rieu
10. Sade
11. Michael Bublé
12. Eagles
13. Katy Perry
14. Lil Wayne
15. Justin Bieber
16. "Glee" Live!
17. NKOTBSB
18. Journey
19. Britney Spears
20. Iron Maiden

Did you check out any of the top 20 acts of 2011 on the road this year? Let us know how the show was in the comments below!

By Zachary Swickey

Florence Welch, the fiery frontwoman of Florence + the Machine, has admitted to adopting sober living while on tour. The group was an opening act on U2’s record-shattering roadshow this summer, and the demanding schedule required a lot from the singer, which led her to choose sobriety on the road.

Welch explained to UK’s The Sun, saying, “I have stopped drinking on tour. I feel a bit more responsibility for my body and for fans who come to see us. When we toured with U2 it was such a grueling schedule and I had shows every day and I can’t do that with a hangover.”

We’ve seen firsthand how delicate a voice can be with Adele axing two U.S. tours this year due to her crazy schedule, and Welch doesn’t seem keen on running into the same problem as she elaborated, stating, “This is the best job in the world and I don’t want to spoil it. Stopping drinking has made a huge difference in my vocal range too.”

The singer even got a pep talk about performing in high heels from Bono himself: “Bono was great. He gave me advice on how to perform even when I’m wearing huge high-heeled shoes. He told me how to keep my feet on the spot and use my arms.” (Sidenote: Bono is actually known to wear shoes with heels several inches thick due to his short stature, but he’s kind of sensitive about it so don’t tease him).

Check out our recent interview with Welch after the jump for more details about life on the road with the Machine, as well as her culinary skills (or lack thereof).

By Zachary Swickey

Chart-topping songstress of the year Adele is disappointed just as much as us that she’s had to cancel her U.S. tour once again. It’s easy for fans to be upset, considering this is her second scrapped stateside tour, and there’s no immediate mention of rescheduling the dates. Although, it’s understandably imperative that she properly rests her vocal chords because it appears they never fully healed from the first tour cancellation.

Axed tours are always a bummer, especially when it’s from one of the year’s biggest acts, but she’s not the first heavy hitter forced to cancel. From Kanye to the Lollapalooza festival itself, here are five of the biggest tour cancellations that prompted a universal sigh from fans.

Kanye West and Lady Gaga’s “Fame Kills Tour”
Appropriately, Kanye West visited the ladies on talk show "The View" in June 2009 to announce a co-headlining tour with then-rising star Lady Gaga, who was riding high on the success of her debut The Fame. Dubbed “Fame Kills: Starring Kanye West and Lady Gaga,” the tour would have found West supporting his auto-tune disc 808s & Heartbreak, while Gaga would release The Fame Monster EP during the tour. However, following West’s infamous stage-crashing incident with Taylor Swift at the VMAs, the entire production was canceled (only two weeks after it was even official). Various rumors suggested poor ticket sales, creative differences and feuding between the two icons … but they both seem to be doing all right today.

Lollapalooza 2004
Lollapalooza originally called it a day after the ’97 iteration. It seemed to have slowly lost the luster that made it a special, must-see event. Perry Farrell revived the fest in 2003 (along with his group, Jane’s Addiction) with acts such as Audioslave, Incubus and Queens of the Stone Age. A year later in 2004, Perry revised the new Lolla by adding a second day for each date on the tour. The lineup was drool-worthy by today’s standards: Morissey, The Killers, Wilco, The Flaming Lips, Modest Mouse, Danger Mouse, Broken Social Scene, PJ Harvey … to name a few. Somehow despite the bevy of impressive acts, the entire tour was nixed due to poor ticket sales. It would have been the tour’s final year as a traveling road show, since it began setting up shop in Chicago for a single, three-day festival beginning in 2005.

Beastie Boys and Rage Against the Machine’s “Rhyme & Reason Tour”
In what would have been a legendary tour, the Beastie Boys and Rage Against the Machine were set to pair up for a late summer jaunt in 2000. There was a variety of supporting acts on all the dates as well: Busta Rhymes, The Roots, Queens of the Stone Age and At the Drive-In (who would break up soon after). Unfortunately, the much-anticipated tour never came to be as Mike D of The Beastie Boys hit a pothole while riding a bicycle and royally screwing up his arm in the process (he would require intense physical therapy in order to fully recover). Mere months later, Rage frontman Zack De La Rocha sadly announced the demise of his group.

Amy Winehouse’s Comeback Tour
Most are aware that the late Amy Winehouse had a troubling time leading up to her passing. Early this summer, her Euro fans went into a frenzy when she announced a small comeback European tour. After the first two shows consisted of disappointing performances from the singer, she initially pulled out of two festival stops before eventually withdrawing from the tour altogether. Her final onstage appearance came a few weeks later when she joined goddaughter Dionne Broomfield on stage to playfully dance along to The Shirelle’s “Mama Said” just days before her death.

Kings of Leon’s 2011 Tour
Just a few months ago, the late summer tour from Southern rockers Kings of Leon famously came to a halt when singer Caleb Followill walked off stage to “vomit and grab another beer” promising to return for three more songs (which he never did). Even his brothers/bandmates gladly pointed the finger, as KOL bassist Jared Followill told the crowd that fans should “F**king hate Caleb, not us.” The rest of the tour was immediately canceled, and the nix supposedly cost their insurers upwards of $15 million dollars. That’s one costly hangover.

By Zachary Swickey

As U2 begin to wrap up the last leg of their seemingly never-ending 360° tour, they continue to shatter records and cement their place as the top touring act ever. The tour – which began in Europe two years ago in support of their most recent album, No Line on the Horizon – has currently grossed over $675 million during the over 100-show run with each date selling out consecutively.

Anyone who has caught a glimpse of the 167-foot tall “claw” structure that U2 employs as their stage knows just how massive this production is. It has a ridiculous budget of $750,000 a day, a fleet of 120 trucks, and a 400-person workforce. It takes eight days just to set up and take down the rig, and the group has three (at $40 million per “claw”), so that two can be in the process of assembly on the same night they play another gig. This 360-degree stage scenario allows up to 20 percent more tickets to be sold; therefore, further helping U2 slaughter attendance records from South Africa to the U.S.

To put things into perspective, The Rolling Stones’ 2005-07 A Bigger Bang Tour is the second highest grossing tour ever, raking in over $550 million, but selling a paltry 4.6 million in tickets to U2’s 7 million. Similarly, U2’s average attendance of over 65,000 people more than doubled the Stones’ 32,500. AC/DC’s lengthy return to the road – 2008-10’s Black Ice World Tour; their first jaunt in 7 years – is unsurprisingly the third highest grossing tour of all time.

But what about the ladies? Find out below.

Pop Queen Madonna remains a hot ticket and boasts the fourth highest grossing tour of all time with her Sticky and Sweet Tour. Despite only playing 85 shows, the tour was attended by over 3.5 million rabid fans and took home $408 million. The real road warrior, however, is Cher, who performed 325 shows over the course of four years during her Farewell Tour.

There are very few modern acts that can put up those kinds of big numbers without a healthy catalog of music to fall back on, but Lady Gaga drew fans in droves to her recent Monster Ball Tour. The trek spanned over three years and more than 200 mostly sold out shows, wrapping up in May of this year. Gaga is not wasting any time getting back on the road, and is already plotting her follow up tour, the Born This Way Ball, which will reportedly be even bigger and hit up countries that she missed the last time around.

Did you see U2 on the road? Tell us about the show in the comments below.

Lady Gaga is ready to get back out on the road!

Mother Monster only wrapped up her years-long Monster Ball tour in May and she’s already talking about her next tour on Twitter. Here’s what we know so far: She has been calling it the Born This Way Ball and it will kick off early next year. Gaga has already said she views the tour as a continuation of the enormously successful Monster Ball.

Yesterday Gaga tweeted, “I miss the Monster Ball. Can't wait for the next tour.” So it’s no surprise that when she began soliciting fan questions on Twitter earlier today, many were about the tour. Asked by fan HoneybgagaBTW what she wanted to do visually with the Born This Way Ball, Gaga responded, “BTWBall dates announced soon, and I know EXACTLY what I want it to look and feel like down to every detail. Time to build.”

She even answered fan questions about what songs will make the set list!

So Gaga’s planning to give her Little Monsters exactly what they want: a perfect mix of both old and new songs. She also confirmed that the Born This Way Ball will be an even bigger global tour than the Monster Ball, with plans to play areas she missed on her last road show, including Indonesia, Latin America and India.

Are you excited about the 'Born This Way Ball'? Let us know in the comments!