Bieber Takes Top Rank On Artist Power Index

Justin Bieber
Kevin Mazur / Getty Images for Justin Bieber – Justin Bieber
tops this week’s APX chart. He’s pictured performing during the “Justice World Tour” at Pechanga Arena in San Diego on Feb. 18, 2022.

Justin Bieber is No. 1 on the Artist Power Index (APX) based on the first six arena performances of his “Justice” world tour that launched in San Diego on Feb. 18. His Live rank jumped 17 positions after debuting at No. 2 in last week’s issue while the Streaming and Airplay rankings remained constant. His Social rank, though, saw a two-position bump from the prior week.

His tour, like many originally planned for 2020, was postponed twice before kicking off last month. It supports his fifth and sixth studio albums, Changes and Justice, both released since he last toured in 2017. The latter, released last March, is nominated for eight Grammys including Album of the Year. Bieber’s tour features both arena and stadium dates and will cover six continents during the next year with a finale currently planned for March 2023.
Seven artists make their debut appearance on APX with Maluma ranked the highest among them at No. 10. He is currently on the road in Europe with his “Papi Juancho” tour that kicked off in North America in 2021. The European leg, announced in December, began with a performance at Arena Zagreb in Croatia on Feb. 24.  For the remainder of this year, he has European dates scheduled periodically through July as well as a handful of Latin American appearances planned for late spring.
Also with an APX debut is Metallica at No. 11 with a Live rank of 39 following a performance at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on Feb. 25, the first of two back-to-back concerts at the 19-month-old venue. Billy Joel, ranked 18th, sold out a concert there the following night. Together the events grossed over $13.8 million and produced a combined sold-ticket count of 80,056.
Metallica was joined by Greta Van Fleet for the Vegas concert as well as show opener Ice Nine Kills. Both bands will also support the headliner later this summer for two more U.S. stadium shows. The first at Highmark Stadium in Buffalo, N.Y., will occur on Aug. 11 and a show at Pittsburgh’s PNC Park follows on the 14th.
After ranking second on LIVE75 for two weeks, Bad Bunny powers his way to No. 1 with a 13-show ticket average of 15,283, supplanting Eric Church who held the top spot for three consecutive weeks. The rapper also continues his run as the “Heavy Hitter” with over $3 million in average grosses, the highest on the chart. In the previous issue, Church had eight performances landing within the chart’s eligibility period, yet this week he has 10 shows, which lowered his average by 198 tickets – enough to give Bad Bunny the edge.
LIVE 75’s “Noise Maker” is entertainer JoJo Siwa, scoring the No. 8 ranking with an average of 8,425 sold seats at three arena performances. She ranked 12th on last week’s chart, also based on tickets sold at three shows, but the average on this chart is 448 tickets higher, giving the YouTuber a four-position jump in the rankings.
Landing at No. 6 with the “Hot Shot” tour of the week is the metal band Mägo De Oz from Spain, currently touring Latin America through March. Formed in Madrid in the late 1980s, the group lands on LIVE75 based on averages from 33,634 sold tickets at three shows in Mexico. The capital city’s Arena Ciudad de Mexico moved 13,525 on Feb. 19, while the ticket counts in Monterrey and Guadalajara were 12,432 and 7,677, respectively.
Los Angeles-based DJ duo Two Friends earns a nod as the chart’s “Breakthrough” act based on sellouts at five shows. The group averaged 1,779 sold tickets at Echostage in Washington, D.C.; the Shrine nightclub at Foxwoods Resort Casino in Mashantucket, Conn.; and two clubs in Boston: Big Night Live and The Grand. 
Check out this week’s APX chart here: https://www.pollstar.com/Chart/2022/03/apx31422pdf_1010.pdf
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