Chart Scene: Bad Bunny Back On Artist Power Index

Bad Bunny returns to the Artist Power Index for the first time since hitting the chart at No. 5 in the May 2 issue. His third-place ranking this week comes largely from top 10 Streaming and Social scores as well as a Live rank based on box-office results from one arena engagement in Puerto Rico. A native of the island, the rapper/singer performed three shows at the Coliseo de Puerto Rico José Miguel Agrelot in San Juan, July 28-30, with combined attendance for the run totaling just over 48,000. The concerts racked up a gross of $3.9 million with tickets priced from $15 to $150.

Among concert performers worldwide in 2022, the reggaeton star was already the headliner with the highest overall gross, and ticket revenue from this recent date bumps his total up to $116.9 million from 38 performances since the beginning of January. In that same period, he also has the fourth highest ticket tally with 622,200 sold seats. Only Ed Sheeran, Coldplay and Kenny Chesney surpass him in attendance this year.

But it is Sheeran who sits atop the Artist Power Index at No. 1, making it three weeks in a row as the highest ranked performer. He also owns the top ranking on LIVE75, returning to No. 1 for the first time in three weeks. With multiple stadiums booked in European cities fueling his top-ranked appearance on both charts, his “Mathematics” tour is also classified as the “Heavy Hitter” on LIVE75 with a gross average of $7.5 million from four reported concerts on the trek. That total surpasses all other headliners among the 75 ranked artists with current active tours.

Red Hot Chili Peppers’ global stadium tour supporting the band’s new album, Unlimited Love, released in April, takes the second position on LIVE75 as the “Hot Shot” tour of the week with the highest ranked chart debut. The band averaged 60,033 tickets per show based on box-office sales from three sold-out concerts during the European leg of the tour.

Two performances in London and a concert in Dublin drew fans numbering over 180,000 from both markets, along with a total box-office haul of $19 million. The average gross of $6.4 million is second only to Sheeran’s average on the chart and is the only one to fall in the $6 million range. Harry Styles, Def Leppard & Mötley Crüe and Billy Joel follow with gross averages of $5.9 million, $4.9 million and $4.1 million, respectively, to round out the top five.

Along with Bad Bunny, the other performer making his first entrance on the Artist Power Index in the most recent quarter of the year is Kendrick Lamar. The 14-time Grammy Award winner takes the 16th ranking on the strength of early performances on “The Big Steppers” tour, his current headlining jaunt that features support by rappers Baby Keem and Tanna Leone.

His tour launched on July 19 at Oklahoma City’s Paycom Center, the first of 33 arenas booked in North America through mid-September. Box-office figures reported from Atlanta’s State Farm Arena – one of the arenas during the second week of the Live Nation-produced tour – show a gross of $1.8 million and 12,427 tickets sold for the July 30 sellout. Lamar will remain on the road through mid-December with treks also planned through Europe and Oceania.

On LIVE75, Styles makes his first appearance at No. 3 with a 59,456-ticket average from five performances on his world tour that just completed its European run at the end of July. Two-night stands in London and Manchester and a single show in Dublin moved almost 300,000 tickets.