Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, aka Bad Bunny, topped the list of highest grossing tours in 2022, according to Billboard.
The Puerto Rican rapper and singer was out on the road in support of his fifth studio album, Un Verano Sin Ti, and grossed more than $373 million in ticket sales over 65 shows.
Elton John’s Farewell Tour came in a close second with $334 million in gross ticket sales for his 84 dates, while Ed Sheeran was a distant third with just $246 million during 65 shows.
Harry Styles’ 71 shows put the former One Direction member at No. 4 with $214 million in sales. Coldplay rounded out the top 5 at $208 million for 40 performances.
The Rolling Stones, Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Stadium Tour featuring Mötley Crüe and Def Leppard, Kenny Chesney, and The Weeknd completed the Top 10, respectively.
It’s safe to say, with those kinds of numbers, fans were more than ready to get back to supporting live music following a two-year shutdown of most of the worldwide touring business.
Pine Knob has strong 2022
Pine Knob Music Theatre near Detroit regained its original name last year, celebrated its 50th anniversary, and was named the top amphitheater in the world in Pollstar’s 2022 rankings.
Returning to its first full summer concert schedule since 2019, Pine Knob presented 50 shows with acts including Pitbull, Imagine Dragons, Zac Brown Band, Thomas Rhett, Stevie Nicks, and Backstreet Boys, raking in $36.9 million in gross ticket sales, though the Detroit market ranked just 14th in total ticket revenue.
Chicago, not surprisingly, was the fourth-ranked market, while Indianapolis checked in at No. 26 and Fort Wayne squeezed into the Top 100 at 94, just behind Savannah, Georgia, and just ahead of Fargo, North Dakota.
Glass Animals top chart
The top single of 2022 in the year-end Billboard Hot 100 chart was Glass Animals’ “Heat Waves.”
The song spent five weeks at the top of the chart and has accumulated a total of 91 weeks on the chart over two years, which is the longest-charting song in the 64-year history of the Billboard Hot 100.
Harry Styles had the second-highest ranking with “As It Was,” followed by “Stay” from The Kid Laroi and Justin Bieber, Adele’s “Easy On Me” and “Shivers” by Ed Sheeran.
Bad Bunny has top album
Like the touring circuit, the year-end Billboard album chart was dominated by Bad Bunny as Un Verano Sin Ti took home top honors for 2022.
Adele proved she still has a lot of things to say as 30 gained the No. 2 spot, followed by country star Morgan Wallen’s Dangerous: The Double Album. Midnights by the queen, Taylor Swift, came in at No. 4, barely beating out Red (Taylor’s Version) by, you guessed it, Swift.
Looking ahead
What will 2023 hold? Who knows?
A lot of big tours are already happening and even more are rumored to be in the works. New music from new artists is sure to dominate the charts, while legends will undoubtedly surprise us as well.
What’s great is supporting those artists by going to see them in a live setting. There’s nothing like it.
So, here’s hoping there are so many shows you want to see in 2023 that you can’t possibly see them all, but somehow you find a way to do it anyway.
Road Notes covers concerts within driving distance of Northeast Indiana. Send your news items to info@whatzup.com.
