Chart Scene: Ed Sheeran Vaults To No. 1 On Artist Power Index

Ed Sheeran takes the highest ranking on the Artist Power Index following the debut of his new “Mathematics” stadium tour, jumping to No. 1 from his third-place appearance in last week’s issue. He surpasses Justin Bieber who topped the chart for seven consecutive weeks following the kickoff of his own world tour that is currently playing arenas in North American markets until July.

Sheeran’s first stadium engagement was in Dublin where he played two shows at Croke Park Stadium April 23-24, the first of three Irish venues booked through May 6. A seven-week stretch through the UK follows before ending in London on July 1. Then he will complete the bulk of his 2022 touring schedule at venues in continental Europe. (See Boxoffice Insider on page 17 for more on Sheeran.)

Prior to the beginning of the stadium run, he played warmup shows at a handful of smaller venues in London, Brighton and Dublin. The first of those was a three-show stint at London’s Electric Ballroom, March 21-23, which led to a nine-position jump to No. 12 on APX in the April 4 issue. Then, with six additional shows prior to the stadium launch, he moved to No. 4 on the April 11 chart and has remained within the top four ever since.

Among the five artists making their first appearance on APX, the highest ranking belongs to country touring titan Kenny Chesney who bows at No. 32 on the strength of his own tour debut at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla. The April 23 concert grossed $8.6 million from a sellout crowd of 58,369, the best box office result ever recorded by Chesney at the venue. His “Here and Now” trek, which features Dan + Shay, Old Dominion and Carly Pearce on select dates, runs through August.

LIVE75’s top-ranked touring artist, Coldplay, hangs on to No. 1 for another week to make it three in a row atop the chart based on sales from the band’s “Music of the Spheres” tour. Eight concerts at three of the Mexican stadiums on the trek’s Latin American leg produced an average ticket count of 57,750 and a $4.55 million gross average to keep the group’s classification as “Heavy Hitter” for a third week.

Billy Joel follows in the second position on the chart with ticket averages from his sold-out performance at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, N.C., also occurring on April 23. The stadium date as well as his March and April residency shows at New York’s Madison Square Garden earn him an average of 26,330 sold seats at three concerts.

The “Hot Shot” touring artist on LIVE75 is Christian music duo For King & Country at No. 21 with a 3,770-ticket average from a string of 10 performances – all but one set in U.S. arenas. The Australian-born brothers are currently touring with their “What Are We Waiting For?” outing that began on March 31 following a headlining stint earlier that month at the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo. Their concert at NRG Stadium that capped the rodeo’s events on March 3 logged an attendance totaling 53,133.