After wrapping up his stint as the opening act on Matchbox Twenty's current tour, Phillip Phillips is ready to strike out on the road with his very first headlining tour, which gets under way Tuesday in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

The show will mostly find the American Idol champ performing at colleges, and Phillip says it was his idea to do a college tour, because he figured the audiences would be the most receptive to his music.  "That's where you build your own fan base, and they'll let you know if you're doing it right or not," he laughs.  "So, it's gonna be fun and I'm really excited about it."

Phillip's set will feature a few cover tunes, but mostly the music from his debut album The World from the Side of the Moon, including his new single "Gone, Gone, Gone" and, of course, his multi-platinum hit "Home."  Amazingly, Phillip says he's still not tired of playing the song, because he manages to find ways to keep it fresh.

"We change it up," he says of him and his band.  "We keep it different every couple shows and whatnot, and just have fun with it, so it doesn't get tired for us.  We always keep music very open and free."

Unlike many of today's pop spectacles, Phillip's tour will be as laid-back as they come, and that extends to his concert rider, you know, the list of backstage demands that every artist has when they go on tour.  As you might expect, Phillip is not asking for fresh-cut lilies, vintage Champagne or black scented candles in his dressing room.

"The only things I know that I put on there were, like, hot water and tea, cough drops and regular bottles of water," he says of his tour rider.  "But the rest of it, I have no idea!"

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