Touring
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Mariah Carey’s Merry Christmas One and All! tour grossed $29.6 million and sold 214,000 tickets according to figures reported to Billboard Boxscore. On a per-show basis, the tour’s 15 dates sold more tickets than any Carey tour in 25 years, dating back to the Butterfly World Tour in 1998.
Carey released Merry Christmas in 1994, featuring the iconic and evergreen smash single, “All I Want for Christmas Is You.” That would be enough to cement her status as the Queen of Christmas, but Carey has put in the work each year and assumed her throne on stage as well. For every year since 2014 (except for the 2020-21 COVID years), she has toured and/or held mini residencies honoring her holiday material.
For four years, Carey played a stint at New York’s Beacon Theatre, building from 16,200 tickets in 2014, to 20,700 in 2015, and to 23,400 in 2016. She cut down to just three shows at the Beacon in 2017, before rebuilding at Madison Square Garden in 2019, 2022 and 2023. Her two shows there in December sold a combined 28,700 tickets and grossed $4.5 million, both of which are bigger than ever.
Not only has Carey increased her efficiency in New York, she’s built out across the country and into Europe. What began as a NYC-only event in 2014, expanded to Europe in 2017 and 2018, plus more North American cities in 2019. After last year’s post-pandemic return focused on just New York and Toronto, the 2023 tour boasts Carey’s biggest holiday routing yet, never playing to fewer than 12,500 fans across the U.S. and Canada. Holiday classics or not, it’s her first such major arena tour since 2006.
Considering “All I Want for Christmas Is You” re-entered the Billboard Hot 100 based on the tracking week of Nov. 10-16, and stayed at No. 2 through the first week of 2024, it’s possible she could expand beyond the Nov. 17-Dec. 17 window of this year’s run.
The Merry Christmas One and All! tour averaged $2 million and 14,200 tickets per show. Those revenue figures are Carey’s biggest ever, dating back more than 30 years since she crashed the Billboard charts.
But while a bustling concert economy and decades of inflation can explain some of her recent success, Carey’s reach – the sheer number of tickets she sold – is also sky high. That 14,200 average is the best per-show attendance for any of her tours since 1998, when she was supporting the previous year’s Butterfly.
Leading up to that 1998 tour, Carey amassed four No. 1 albums on the Billboard 200 and 12 No. 1 songs on the Hot 100. Since then, there have been another two No. 1 albums and seven No. 1 songs, including 14 weeks on top, spread across the last five holiday seasons, for “All I Want for Christmas Is You.” In 2019, one month before that track reached the summit, Carey ranked No. 4 on Billboard’s Greatest of All Time Artists chart, leading among women and Black artists.
Still, Carey has never toured with the same intensity as many of the acts that surrounded her on that list, such as Elton John, Madonna or Taylor Swift. Her first three concert tours, in the midst of her ‘90s chart-topping spree, each lasted for no more than 11 shows, almost one eighth of Swift’s calendar for 2024.
It’s encouraging that Carey has arguably been busier than ever on the road in the last decade, including her annual holiday series, two Las Vegas residencies and three international tours. Far removed from releasing her last chart-topper, her 2023 upswing in concert attendance, not to mention the all-time-high grosses, tells a positive story about Carey’s legacy as the Queen of Christmas, using her unique niche (and 19 No. 1 hits – a record among soloists – expanding their presence in the holiday show setlist) to fill arenas.
Coachella has always flexed its muscle as one of the world’s most influential music festivals by booking big-name reunions and comeback shows that fans can’t see anywhere else. The desert fest hosted the reunion of Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg (and the now-fabled 2Pac hologram) in 2012 and the return of Outkast in 2014. Prince […]
Drake and J. Cole’s hotly anticipated It’s All a Blur Tour — Big As the What? won’t start this week. Originally slated to kick off Jan. 18 and Jan. 19 in Denver, Drake and Cole’s first show will take place Feb. 2 in Tampa Bay, Fla., according to Ticketmaster. The opening Denver dates have been […]
The Eagles are saying a lot of farewells on their Long Goodbye Final Tour — not just to life on the road, but also to the countless friends they’ve lost along the way.
So when they hit the Kia Forum in Inglewood, Calif., for four nights over the past two weekends (kicking off Jan. 5 and 6 and wrapping up this past Friday and Saturday), they might have been feeling especially nostalgic, considering their band formed right here in Los Angeles and they first played the venue 49 years ago, back in 1975. They also reopened the Forum as a concert space in 2014, playing the first six shows in the newly renovated arena.
“It’s good to be back here at the Forum,” Don Henley said. “We consider the Forum to be our home field. … They’ve improved the place a lot since then. Remember all those ugly yellow and orange seats?” he said with a laugh, recalling the slightly different color scheme when the Lakers played at the Forum before moving to Staples Center in 1999.
Throughout their 21-song set, the Eagles sprinkled in tributes to peers they’ve lost, including bandmates Glenn Frey and Randy Meisner. Of course, Frey died back in 2016, and his son Deacon Frey, now 31, has been filling in for his late dad (alongside Country Music Hall of Famer Vince Gill) in the band since their Classic West performance at Dodger Stadium in 2017. Founding member Meisner — who left the band after 1976’s Hotel California album — died this past summer, so this is the band’s first tour since.
“We’re going to dedicate this to the memory of Mr. Randy Meisner,” Henley said to introduce “Take It to the Limit,” which was the band’s only single to feature the bassist on lead vocals and peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1976 and spent 23 weeks on the chart — their longest-charting hit on the tally. “Sing it with him,” Henley implored, as Gill took over on Meisner’s sky-high vocals.
Frey tributes were sprinkled throughout the night — basically any time Deacon and Gill took the lead on his signature songs — and after the mellow “Peaceful Easy Feeling” wrapped up, Glenn’s picture appeared on the big screen.
One unexpected tribute came when Henley told the crowd, “I think we’re going to take a little trip up to the mid-’80s right now. And we’re going to dedicate this next song to the memory of our dear friend, Mr. Jimmy Buffett.” The intro led in to Henley’s 1984 solo smash “The Boys of Summer” — a perfect fit to remember the late “Margaritaville” singer, who died in September and was the eternal boy of summer.
Steely Dan served as the opening act, doing a robust 12-song set and remembering some friends of their own, with lead singer Donald Fagen making sure to shout out his band co-founder Walter Becker, who died in 2017.
The Long Goodbye Final Tour picks back up Tuesday at Acrisure Arena in Palm Springs, Calif., and wraps up March 16 at Charlotte, N.C.’s Spectrum Center.
Eagles’ Long Goodbye Final Tour setlist for Friday, Jan. 12:
Seven Bridges RoadTake It EasyOne of These NightsLyin’ EyesBest of My LoveNew Kid in TownWitchy WomanPeaceful Easy FeelingTequila SunriseIn the CityI Can’t Tell You WhyTake It to the LimitLife’s Been GoodAlready GoneThe Boys of SummerFunk #49Life in the Fast LaneHotel California
Encore:Rocky Mountain WayDesperadoHeartache Tonight
Singer-songwriter HARDY is turning what could have been a discouraging early career moment into not only the title of his new spoken-word track, “Quit!!,” but also the namesake of his newly announced tour, which launches in May.
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The 15-date trek will begin May 30 in Rogers, Ark., and will wrap July 27 in Tinley Park, Ill. Opening for HARDY are Kip Moore, Travis Denning, Ella Langley and Stephen Wilson Jr.
In accepting his ACM songwriter of the year honor in 2022, HARDY used his acceptance speech as vindication, recalling a singer-songwriter show from his early days in Nashville, when someone slipped a napkin into his tip jar. On it was written a simple message: “Quit!”
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HARDY used that discouragement as fuel, and in “Quit!!,” lays out his journey from struggling Nashville newcomer to writing hit songs for Florida Georgia Line and Morgan Wallen, then coming into his own as an artist and forging new paths with his country-rock hybrid project The Mockingbird & The Crow, which has cemented his current status as a multi-genre hitmaker, thanks to rock chart hits “Jack” and “Sold Out.”
“Thank you for inspiring me to be great,” HARDY said in a statement. “I guess sometimes holding a grudge is a good thing.”
While “Quit!!” details HARDY’s journey, he offered fans a deeper glimpse into this current state with the release of the 22-minute short film Becoming The Crow which released Jan. 11. The Justin Clough-directed project highlighted two 2023 nights — one on Jan. 23 as he played a double-header at The Troubadour and The Roxy, while on Oct. 26, he launched the first night of a three-night stand at Nashville’s Municipal Auditorium. The film features not only HARDY, but producers Joey Moi and David Garcia, label head and manager Seth England and manager Troy “Tracker” Johnson, HARDY’s band mates, touring camp, and others.
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Tickets for the Quit!! tour go on sale Friday, Jan. 19 at 10 a.m. local time, with select fan pre-sales starting Tuesday, Jan. 16. Buy tickets here.
Quit!! tour Dates
May 30 – Rogers, Ark. – Walmart AMP ♠*◎
May 31 – St. Louis, Mo. – Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre ♠*◎
June 1 – Noblesville, Ind. – Ruoff Music Center ♠*◎
June 6 – Toronto, Ont. – Budweiser Stage ♠*◎
June 7 – Saratoga Springs, N.Y. – Broadview Stage at SPAC ♠*◎
June 8 – Buffalo, N.Y. – Darien Lake Amphitheater ♠*
June 14 – Charlotte, N.C. – PNC Music Pavilion ♠*✭
June 15 – Raleigh, N.C. – Coastal Credit Union Music Park ♠*✭
June 20 – Holmdel, N.J. – PNC Bank Arts Center ♠*✭
June 21 – Mansfield, Mass. – Xfinity Center ♠*✭
June 22 – Gilford, N.H. – BankNH Pavilion ♠*✭
June 27 – Camden, N.J. – Freedom Mortgage Pavilion ♠*✭
June 28 – Bristow, Va. – Jiffy Lube Live ♠*✭
July 25 – Cincinnati, Ohio – Riverbend Music Center ♠*
July 27 – Tinley Park, Ill. – Credit Union 1 Amphitheatre ♠*
♠ Kip Moore* Travis Denning✭ Ella Langley◎ Stephen Wilson Jr.
Sphere Entertainment has said it’s committed to working with alternative “forward-thinking cities around the world” after officially withdrawing plans to build a Sphere concert arena in London.
On Monday (Jan. 8), Sphere Entertainment’s sister company, Madison Square Garden Entertainment (MSGE), which is owned by tycoon James Dolan, told British officials that it would not be proceeding with its long-standing proposal to build a Sphere venue in the British capital city.
The announcement came less than two months after London Mayor Sadiq Khan blocked plans for the 21,500-capacity, 300-foot-tall spherical building because of the impact he believed it would have on the surrounding area, including high energy use and the “significant light intrusion” it would cause local residents.
In a letter to the planning inspectorate seen by Billboard, Richard Constable, MSGE’s executive vp/global head of government affairs and social impact, told officials that “following careful review, we cannot continue to participate in a process that is merely a political football between rival parties.”
“It is extremely disappointing that Londoners will not benefit from the Sphere’s groundbreaking technology and the thousands of well-paying jobs it would have created,” wrote Constable, confirming that MSGE — acting on behalf of Sphere Entertainment — was officially withdrawing its application from the planning process.
The termination of MSGE’s plans for a London version of its $2 billion Sphere venue in Las Vegas follows years of controversy surrounding the project, which was due to be built on a five-acre plot of land in Stratford, East London (the site has been largely derelict since 2012 when it was used as a temporary coach park during the London Olympics).
A proposal for what was later christened MSG Sphere London was first submitted in 2019, but it immediately received strong opposition from local councillors and campaign groups, as well as AEG, the owner and operator of the 20,000-capacity The O2 arena located less than five miles away.
Despite residents’ concerns, The London Legacy Development Company provisionally greenlit the plans in March 2022 before they were subsequently overturned by Mayor Khan last November.
In a statement, Sphere Entertainment said it had informed Michael Gove — the U.K. secretary of state for levelling up, housing and communities, who initiated a review of the mayor’s decision in December — that it would not be moving forward with its plans for London and would not be participating in a review.
“We are committed to continuing to work collaboratively with forward-thinking cities around the world who are serious about bringing this next-generation entertainment experience to their communities,” said a spokesperson for Sphere Entertainment.
Sphere Entertainment Co., formerly Madison Square Garden Entertainment (MSGE), was formed in April when MSGE’s traditional live entertainment business, which includes the Madison Square Garden and Radio City Music Hall venues in New York, split off from the Sphere and MSG Networks businesses. Sphere retained a 33% stake in MSGE.
The five-acre site earmarked for the London Sphere, which MSGE bought for around £60 million ($76 million), is now expected to be put up for sale.
Meanwhile, the developer is understood to be in talks with multiple international markets about rolling out the Sphere model in other global cities, following its high-grossing debut in Las Vegas last year with a residency by U2.
In December, the New York Post reported that Dolan was meeting with investors in Abu Dhabi about building a second Sphere in the United Arab Emirates capital. Also last year, several South Korean newspapers reported that the city of Hanam was another potential future location after talks took place between city officials and representatives of MSGE. Sphere Entertainment Co. declined to comment on those reports when contacted by Billboard.
Grammy winner Chris Tomlin will embark on his first major global headlining trek in over a decade when his Holy Forever World Tour launches in April, Billboard can exclusively reveal.
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Since releasing his debut album in 1993, Tomlin’s name has become synonymous with modern worship music, as the Texas native has issued songs that have evolved into music standards sung by church congregations around the world. He has earned 11 Christian Airplay chart-toppers, including the 15-week No. 1 “Whom Shall I Fear (God of Angel Armies)” and the 18-week No. 1 “Made to Worship.” His 2013 album Burning Lights debuted atop the Billboard 200 chart, becoming the fourth Christian album to hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200.
In addition to Stateside concerts in such cities as Boston, Seattle and Las Vegas, the Holy Forever World Tour will make stops in England, the Netherlands, Germany and Hungary. The trek follows Tomlin’s sold-out U.S. Evening of Worship fall 2023 tour, which wrapped in November.
“I’ve never played in Hungary or Dusseldorf [Germany] — those [cities] near the end of that European run will be brand new for me,” Tomlin tells Billboard of gearing up for the overseas shows. “There’s something about when I’ve played overseas, there’s something about the hunger to those audiences. In America, we have so much — especially even when it comes to Christian music, there’s so many concerts going on and churches on every street. But in a lot of places, that just doesn’t happen. I remember a few places we played around the world, we played a two-hour set and they’re like, ‘Are you kidding me? That’s all you’re going to play?’ So, we played for another two hours. It’s exciting to be part of that. Music is global. The church is global.”
Sibling trio CAIN, known for Christian Airplay chart-toppers “Yes, He Can” and “Rise Up (Lazarus),” as well as the top 10 hit “I’m So Blessed,” will open the U.S. shows on the tour.
“They are the hottest thing going, as far as our genre of music and all the new bands that are coming out,” Tomlin says of the trio’s Taylor, Madison and Logan Cain. “They are resonating with the next generation and their music is so good. They are siblings, so their harmonies are insane. They have such a heart for worship and for connecting with people.”
It also doesn’t hurt that Tomlin’s daughters are big fans of the group. “Every morning when I’m taking my girls to school, we have ‘I’m So Blessed’ cranked up in the car. So to have them on the tour will bring a really different dynamic than I’ve had on my tours.”
He says attendees can expect some onstage collaborations between Tomlin and CAIN. “I think it has to happen,” he says, recalling a recent jam session with the group. “We were playing and writing a bit; I had my guitar with me and the three of them were singing. It was so spontaneous and real and pure. I have a great expectation for those shows.”
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The Holy Forever Tour’s namesake is Tomlin’s 2023 six-week No. 1 Christian Airplay hit “Holy Forever,” which Tomlin wrote with Brian Johnson, Jenn Johnson, Phil Wickham and Jason Ingram.
“I think it’s one of those songs that probably will be one of the anchor songs of my career,” Tomlin says, noting that the writing session drew together separate song and melody ideas from Tomlin, Ingram and Johnson, melding them into “Holy Forever.”
“When it started crystalizing, it was like, ‘Wow, these different parts of songs we all had are coming together,’” Tomlin says, noting the key line from the song, “A thousand generations falling down in worship.” “Generation after generation, we’re just the next one to take the baton and every generation has done it differently,” he says.
Given the song’s global impact, Tomlin has a singular hope for every concert on the upcoming tour.
“I always pray when people are walking through those doors that they sense the grace of God, that on these nights people who are carrying heavy burdens are lifted up again in their soul and they’re reminded of God’s grace, to remind us of something greater than ourselves,” he says.
Pre-sale for Tomlin’s Holy Forever Tour begins Jan. 19, with general on-sale starting Jan. 22 at christomlin.com.
Holy Forever World Tour dates:
Thursday, April 18: Newark, NJ – Prudential CenterFriday, April 19: Hershey, PA – GIANT CenterSaturday, April 20: Boston, MA – Agganis ArenaWednesday, April 24: Tulsa, OK – Mabee CenterThursday, April 25: St Louis, MO – Chaifetz ArenaSaturday, April 27: Kansas City, MO – Cable Dahmer ArenaWednesday, May 1: Spokane, WA – Spokane ArenaThursday, May 2: Everett, WA – Angel of the Winds ArenaFriday, May 3: Portland, OR – Moda CenterThursday, May 9: Fresno, CA – Save Mart CenterFriday, May 10: Anaheim, CA – Honda CenterSaturday, May 11: Henderson, NV – Dollar Loan CenterSunday, May 26: West Sussex, UK – Winston House – Big Church Day OutMonday, May 27: Belfast, United Kingdom (UK) – SSE Arena BelfastTuesday, May 28: Rotterdam, Netherlands (NL) – Ahoy ArenaThursday, May 30: Düsseldorf, Germany (DE) – Mitsubishi Electric Halle – D.LIVESaturday, June 1: Szeged, Hungary -Hungary Szent Gellert Forom (Forum) Stadion – This Is The Day (separate from tour)
Corey Taylor has cancelled his previously announced North American solo tour. The Slipknot frontman took to Instagram on Friday (Jan. 5) to reveal the news, citing struggles with his mental and physical health. “For the past several months my mental and physical health have been breaking down, and I reached a place that was unhealthy […]
Christina Aguilera has signed with UTA for worldwide representation, the company tells Billboard. The pop icon joins a roster that includes some of music’s biggest players and hitmakers, including Lil Wayne, Post Malone, Karol G, Jonas Brothers and Guns N’ Roses. The news comes on the heels of a major night for Aguilera: On Saturday […]
BMG is getting out of the live music business. The German music company agreed to sell its stakes in two live music companies, Undercover and Karo, to the minority shareholders, the company announced Friday (Dec. 22). The move comes less than a month after the company said it would focus on its core recorded music […]