Much like his fellow chart topper Chris Brown, global superstar The Weeknd is no stranger to fielding comparisons to King of Pop Michael Jackson over his illustrious career.
From milestone certifications at the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) to history-making stats at Billboard, the 2020’s have seen the Canadian hitmaker (born Abel Tesfaye) accomplish other-worldly successes that have repeatedly put his name in the chat with the insurmountable stats of MJ’s.
Now, thanks to the ongoing success of the international ‘After Hours Til Dawn Stadium Tour‘ (designed to support the 2020 blockbuster project ‘After Hours‘ and 2022 hit LP ‘Dawn FM‘), the Abel/Michael conversation expands to touring box office receipts.
See how inside.
Last weekend, The Weeknd broke the attendance record for London Stadium – a location that seats a whopping 80,000. With sold out, back-to-back shows on July 7th and 8th as part of the hotly-selling ‘After Hours Til Dawn Tour,’ the jaunt courted 160,000 attendees over two dates and now holds the record for highest assembly of concertgoers at the massive venue.
“It’s incredible to see The Weeknd hit this milestone less than halfway through his massive sold out European run,” stated Live Nation’s Omar Al-joulani, President of Touring, in a recent interview with Variety. “This historic moment in London shows the global fanbase he has cultivated over the years.”
Tesfaye chimed in as well by taking to social media to thank his dedicated fans.
The London Stadium news came just as reports surfaced Abel’s ‘After Hours Til Dawn Tour’ had crossed the $350 million revenue-generated mark – a historic milestone for a Black artist. Before this, the King of Pop’s 1987 ‘Bad Tour‘ (which grossed $311 million) held the record.
What’s more, the Weeknd’s global still has much of Europe to cover including stops in Belgium, Spain, France, Italy, Czech Republic, Germany, and Poland before hopping over to Latin America and wrapping up in late October.
At this rate, the show’s final box office count could easily top $500 million – a feat that would mark a first for any Black artist and would make ‘After Hours Til Dawn’ one of the top 5 highest-grossing tours of all time for any solo act.
Top 5 Solo Tours of All Time
(as of time reported & not accounting for inflation)
Elton John‘s ‘Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour’ – $910m
Ed Sheeran‘s ‘Divide Tour’ – $776m
Harry Styles‘ ‘Love on Tour’ – $501m
Roger Waters‘ ‘The Wall Live’ – $458M
Madonna – $411m ‘Sticky & Sweet Tour’
The Weeekemd just grossed higher than Rihannas entire career of touring off 1 tour.
Beyoncé — 1.1B
MJ – 950M
Jay Z — 695M
Drake — $428M
Rihanna — 336M
Rihanna ain’t s:hit. You won’t be missed if she won’t released any album again
Billboard Hot 100: All-Time Top Black Solo Artists (adjusted all-time Hot 100 points):
1. Mariah Carey 15.8 million
2. Stevie Wonder 14.3 million
3. Janet Jackson 13.4 million
4. Michael Jackson 13 million
5. Drake 12.8 million
6. Whitney Houston 12.6 million
7. Rihanna 12 million
8. Usher 10.3 million
9. Prince 10 million
10. Aretha Franklin 9.9 million
11. Marvin Gaye 8.2 million
12. Diana Ross 7.8 million
13. Donna Summer 7.6 million
14. Beyonce 7.4 million
15. Lionel Richie 7.4 million
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28. Nicki Minaj 4.6 million
Lol Kneeyonce ain’t even top 10. This supposed to be a flex fattie?
Another ‘history making’ post.
History! History! History! Tgj needs a thesaurus
It’s all for clicks 🖱️
$311 million in 1989 is $765 million today, so Abel is nowhere near MJ’s level. All these record breaking numbers are part of a lucrative agenda to fool people into believing that there are future legends in music today.
Exactly!
More ppl were buying and listening to older music a few couple months ago. Now these artists are breaking 30 year old records????
Which is it…
Lol “$311 million in 1989 is $765 million today,”?
#FAIL 💯 💶
What you meant to say was “$125 million in 1989 is $311 million today”…
That mj figure was ALREADY adjusted for inflation. 😆 🤣 😂
$350M > $311M 💯 💶
Ok, I missed that. But that will be the highest peak of the career he has had stealing MJ’s aesthetic.
That mj figure was ALREADY adjusted for inflation. 😆 🤣 😂
Bad grossed $125 million…
$350M > $311M 💯 💶
Did not even know the weekday was on tour. I mean… does it matter? MJ’s hologram will outperform “Unabel” with just a smooth lean. No one is worried about this. He’s a trash performer at best.
Disgraceful…
Michael Jackson is in a different league to “Abel”
Ok, and? The WEAKnd will never be as legendary as MJ. 14 years after his death he’s still more popular and iconic than everyone on Earth😭😭😭
WHy do people like this dude? I did like the trilogy ep he put out but that’s it. Even then, he is NOT big to me and his music is mediocre at best. Idk why his fans hype him up. He cannot sing at all. Or dance, he is boring
While I have liked a few of Weeknd’s songs, I can’t be considered a true fan. As far as him setting a new record for the highest-grossing tour, I’ll just say that records were made to be broken. However, Michael Jackson’s concerts were “otherworldly” and no one will ever compare to his talent and ability to create an atmosphere of magic. Plus, the prices of concert tickets have literally skyrocketed over the last five years contributed to monstrous sales figures! Michael was not in favor of price-gouging where his concerts were concerned. He wanted as many fans as possible to see him live. They’ll never, EVER be anyone that can capture the world like MJ did!