Features
‘It Couldn’t Have Happened To A Better Person’: Looking Back On Khalid’s Euro Run
Gus Stewart/Redferns – Khalid at The O2 Arena on Sept. 17, 2019
The artist sold the iconic London venue out twice in a row on his first visit
The European leg of Khalid’s “Free Spirit” world tour is a wrap, and it turned out to be his most successful visit to Europe yet. Pollstar spoke with some of the members of the team making it happen.
Khalid first crossed the pond in February 2017, when he played 250-cap rooms as part of the “Location” tour. He then supported Lorde on her European run in October that same year and returned on his own in February 2018. “He sold out every show from 1,500 to 10,000 cap venues, including two Eventim Apollos [in London],” Khalid’s agent at ICM Partners, Ari Bernstein, recalls.
In April this year, Khalid released his second studio album Free Spirit, quickly becoming the most-streamed artist in the world on Spotify, where he had over 53 million monthly listeners at press time. So, when a 2019 European tour was on the table, Bernstein wasn’t surprised by the ticket demand anymore. “Between his social engagement, streaming numbers, ticket history in U.K./Europe and the success of the North American tour, we had no doubt that this tour would do extremely well and sell out,” he said.
The Euro leg of “Free Spirit” consisted of 19 headline shows, which sold more than 165,000 tickets in total – an average of more than 8,500 sold seats per concert. The number includes Khalid’s first performances at London’s iconic O2 Arena, where he sold-out 27,000 tickets across two nights, Sept. 17-18.
– Came, saw, conquered: Khalid sold out The O2 on his first visit.
From left: Simon Jones (AEG Presents, Promoter), Ari Bernstein (Agent, ICM), Courtney Stewart (Manager), Khalid (Artist), Emma Bownes (Vice President of Venue Programming, AEG Europe), Dan Rolfe (Venue Manager), Oscar Tuttiett (AEG Presents, Promoter)
According to Pollstar box office data, Khalid also sold-out 3Arena in Dublin, Ireland, which amounts to 12,747 tickets and a $698,989 gross. He almost sold out 13,625 seats at Resorts World Arena in Birmingham, England, grossing $652,242. A total of five shows took place in the U.K., the other two at First Direct Arena Leeds, England, and The SSE Hydro in Glasgow, Scotland. The U.K. shows alone sold 65,000 tickets, according to Oscar Tuttiett of AEG Presents/Goldenvoice, who promoted the U.K. shows.
Such numbers are nothing short of what Khalid is selling in his home country, the United States, where some of the most recent headline shows include the Aug. 13 concert at the 12,385-cap Spectrum Center in Charlotte, NC ($822,197 gross), or the Aug. 16 concert at the 12,710-cap Amway Center in Orlando, FL ($816,641 gross).
Simon Jones, SVP Live Music, International at AEG Presents/Goldenvoice, said the European dates had been planned meticulously. “We certainly weren’t surprised by the success of the shows, as all the signs were pointing towards another great run. For the most part, we were in arenas everywhere, apart from a couple, and in France we were met with a horrible set of venue availabilities in Paris for our tour period, and so we opted for what become two very intimate and incredible shows at L’Olympia,” he explained.
Stand-out shows, according to Jones, included Dublin, which “sold out in 15 minutes, and set’s us up brilliantly for next time. The ferocious speed of sales in Amsterdam was incredible, and the crowd matched up to it on the day. The atmosphere was electric for that show.” While Khalid wasn’t available for comment, he told Bernstein that “the Norway show was incredible and the audience gave him so much energy.”
Tuttiett has especially fond memories of the first night at the O2: “Ed Sheeran came on for their song together which was a crazy moment for the fans.” The promoter admitted that he was still impressed by Khalid’s meteoric rise and the fact that his team has kept up with it. “Moving through the gears so quickly, I would say, is not always a good thing and can create issues, but I find it amazing how the whole team from Khalid down has adapted so quickly to touring and generally operating at such a high level.”
Talking about their business philosophy, Bernstein said, “booking shows is all about the experience of both the artist and the audience. Understanding and knowing the details of the venues you are going into is extremely important to making a show as successful as possible.”
Jones said it was important. to “play to the strengths of the artist, and the market, and never ever treat the whole region as one size fits all.” He called Khalid’s core team around Bernstein and manager Courtney Steward “fantastic,” and “a joy to work with. They make the right decisions for the right reasons, always with the bigger picture in mind. Equally, Khalid’s team on the road are like a family, and very good at what they do. It’s important for Khalid to have a great support system on the road, to ensure he continues to enjoy his time on tour.”
The “Free Spirit” tour will visit New Zealand and Australia next, Nov. 20-Dec. 5, selling out venues across the board, including two Spark Arenas in Auckland and two Qudos Bank Arenas in Sydney. Khalid also headlines Split Milk Festival in Ballarat, Nov. 30.
Both Jones and Bernstein have high praise for their client. Bernstein describes him as “one of the most engaging and genuine artists I have ever worked with. He truly deserves all the success that he has and it couldn’t have happened to a better person.”
According to Jones, “he’s just as humble off stage and appreciative of everything as he is on-stage. He works hard, and is recording all the time during the day with his studio on the road. His creativity is pretty constant.”