‘Empire’ singing contest gets a bus tour with Season 2 cameo as grand prize

A talented “Empire” superfan could win his or her way onto the hit Fox series through a new singing competition.

“Fox’s Next Empire Artist” bus tour, complete with a flashy gold bus decked out with a recording studio, will make its way through 15 cities across the U.S. beginning in Los Angeles on July 16, Fox announced Thursday.

The tour will be a promotional companion to the show, which takes a beat from similar efforts by “Glee” and the once-mighty “American Idol.”

Contestants can enter to win by recording a capella versions of “Empire’s” biggest hits on the bus, including “No Apologies” and “Drip Drop,” in addition to posing as as stand-ins for patriarch Lucious Lyon (Terrence Howard) and sample Cookie’s (Taraji P. Henson) fresh-baked cookies.

The grand prize winner will appear as an Empire artist in Season 2, which premieres Sept. 23.

The tour stops are:

LOS ANGELES July 16-17

SAN FRANCISCO July 19-20

SEATTLE July 25-26

CHICAGO Aug. 1-2

DETROIT Aug. 4-5

ST. LOUIS Aug. 11-12

DALLAS Aug. 14-15

NEW ORLEANS Aug. 18-19

NASHVILLE Aug. 21-22

ATLANTA Aug. 26-27

CHARLOTTE Aug. 31-Sept. 1

PHILADELPHIA Sept. 5-6

WASHINGTON, D.C. Sept. 7-8

NEW YORK Sept. 12-13

BOSTON Sept. 15-16

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