Lewis Capaldi Makes Chart Debut With New Tour

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Lewis Capaldi performs at First Direct Arena on January 14, 2023 in Leeds, England. (Photo by Andrew Benge/Redferns)

Lewis Capaldi makes his debut on the Artist Power Index following the launch of the new tour promoting his upcoming album, Broken By Desire To Be Heavenly Sent, due to arrive in May. The tour’s first show on Jan. 14 kicked off a two-month stretch through European cities that will be followed by North American theater dates planned for April/May and arena concerts in Australia and New Zealand in July.

The Scottish singer-songwriter takes No. 6 on the chart with the 24th highest Live rank of the week based on performances on the first two dates of the tour. The opener at First Direct Arena in Leeds, England was followed by a Jan. 16 event at Utilita Arena in Sheffield. British artist Raye was a special guest for both shows.

Capaldi’s second-best showing among the four APX categories is in Airplay where he scores the 34th highest rank. He has released two singles from his upcoming album beginning with “Forget Me,” the lead single that bowed back in September, followed by “Pointless” in December. Both songs have reached No. 1 on the UK Singles chart.

Also making his first appearance on APX is Warner Music Nashville recording artist Bailey Zimmerman who released his debut EP Leave the Light On just last October. The country artist earns the No. 29 ranking this week following his headlining appearance at the Georgia Theatre in Athens, Georgia on Jan. 5. His upcoming road gigs include opening for Tim McGraw next month in Phoenix, the New Country 103.1 “Rib Round Up” in West Palm Beach, Florida in March and a support slot for Morgan Wallen on this year’s “One Night at a Time” world tour.

Making a move on the Artist Power Index from third in the rankings to No. 1 is Bruno Mars, who is currently appearing with his residency at Dolby Live at Park MGM in Las Vegas. His two performances leading up to New Year’s Eve produced the 39th-best Live rank of the week which contributes to his jump to the top, along with top-25 appearances in both Streaming and Airplay.

The highest ranking on LIVE75 belongs to Billy Joel who is also the “Hot Shot” artist with the highest debut of the week. He averaged a ticket total of 42,705 from three shows – one at his monthly residency at New York’s Madison Square Garden and two at one-off performances in New Zealand and Australia during December. The first of the two, held at Eden Park in Auckland, on Dec. 3 was sold out with a crowd of 33,242 in attendance and a $5.5 million gross. Then, on the 10th, he played for another sellout crowd of 76,313 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, racking up a $10.4 million box-office haul.

Joel’s last trek in Oceania was in 2008 when he performed nine shows in six cities. His Auckland show 14 years earlier was an arena date at Vector Arena (now named Spark Arena) with 10,222 in the house. Also reported from that brief December tour in 2008 was a two-show stint at Brisbane Entertainment Centre with 23,321 sold seats and two nights at Sydney’s Acer Arena (now Qudos Bank Arena) with a combined attendance of 25,525.

Lizzo makes an entrance on LIVE75 for the first time this year, taking the No. 4 ranking with a per-show ticket average of 14,980 at seven arenas on the tour supporting her July 2022 album, Special. The dates all occurred during November, the final month of the North American leg of the tour that kicked off in late September and grossed $40 million at 28 shows.