Grammy-winning Nigerian singer Damini Ogulu, popularly known as Burna Boy has set yet another groundbreaking record as the first African artiste to stage the highest-grossing arena concert in America.
The Afro-fusion singer achieved the feat after his ‘I Told
Them’ tour, which grossed $15.5 million from 15 shows, with revenue from six
more concerts.
This also beat the record set after his performance at the
Capital One Arena in Washington D.C. on March 7, 2024, which generated $1.725
million in revenue as well as the earlier outing at the TD Garden in Boston on
March 2, 2024. That concert generated $1.593 million.
American tour statistics company, Touring Data made this
disclosure, in a series of posts on X, yesterday.
The platform provided a PDF and spreadsheet with concert
ticket sales in North America and Canada to back up its report.
According to Touring Data, Burna Boy’s “I Told Them” tour
earned revenue as follows:
Capital One Arena, Washington D.C. (March 7, 2024): 13,892
attendees (100 per cent sell-out), $1,724,853 gross revenue; Hard Rock Live,
Hollywood held on March 12, grossed $175.76 in revenue, while his Canada tour
grossed $5.7 million from 69,219 tickets sold in six shows.
The record-breaking performances were part of Burna Boy’s “I
Told Them” tour, which has already grossed over $11.6 million across 11
reported shows out of a planned 22-stop tour.
This strong showing in the US market further solidifies
Burna Boy’s position as a leading figure in Afrobeats and a major international
touring act.
Produced by Live Nation, the 16-city tour kicked off on
November 3, at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles.
It marked Burna Boy’s first-ever performance in a Los
Angeles stadium. He toured other American cities, including Houston, Chicago,
Toronto among others before wrapping up in Atlanta at State Farm Arena on March
9th.
Nine months earlier, the’ African Giant’ had a sold-out show
at Citi Field, New York, making him the first Nigerian artiste to headline a
stadium in America.
He has continued to push boundaries and dominates global
arenas with his craft. His success reflects the growing popularity of Afrobeats
music on the global scene. And this is another breakthrough that means so much
to African music.