The Weeknd wrapped his After Hours Til Dawn tour this week in Kuala Lumpur and it finished past $1.3 billion, which Live Nation says makes it the highest grossing tour by a male artist ever.
The numbers are kind of hard to wrap your head around. 176 shows, 67 cities, 30 countries and more than 9 million tickets, per Live Nation. It started July 14, 2022 at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia and ran four years. 2026 by itself was more than 3 million tickets and over $500 million. Billboard says it passes Elton John's Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour at $939 million, and the only tours that have ever grossed more are Coldplay's Music of the Spheres and Taylor Swift's Eras Tour. He was also the first artist to sell out six nights at Stade de France on one tour.
And it wasn't just money going one way. Live Nation says the tour sent $8.5 million to the XO Humanitarian Fund and Global Citizen across the run.
Why this one matters to us
The Weeknd is a Black kid from Toronto who first got noticed putting songs online without even showing his face. Now nobody, no man in any genre, has ever moved more on the road. When people talk about who runs the biggest stages in the world they usually picture somebody else, and this is the receipt. If you want more on how deep music runs into our world we did a list of 11 songs that sample video games, and we've talked before about where culture and gaming meet.
What we don't know yet
What's next. Nothing's been announced. The only new music is "Hong Kong," which he put out in East and Southeast Asia after it debuted October 24.
What's your favorite Weeknd era, After Hours, Starboy, or the trilogy days? Come make your case in the CXM Discord.
Your call
Did I get this ranking right?
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