Chart Scene: Chris Brown Shines On APX With Euro Tour Launch

Chris Brown makes a 37-position leap on the Artist Power Index following the launch of his “Under the Influence” tour, now on the road in European cities through March. His appearance on APX one week ago at No. 39 was based solely on Streaming and Airplay scores, both ranked 17th in their categories, along with his Social rank of 60. Yet with the first three performances on his new tour, he takes No. 2 this week. The tour began with two shows at 3Arena in Dublin and a third at The O2 in London.

Last year Brown spent the summer on a joint trek in North American venues with Lil Baby. Dubbed the “One of Them Ones” tour, the co-headliners played 26 arenas and sheds, averaging a $1.6 million haul per show with sold tickets averaging 13,545. Since 2006, he has appeared on the charts with 284 reported shows, grossing $166 million overall from an attendance totaling 2.7 million.

With five performers making their debut on the Artist Power Index in this issue, Republic recording artist Stephen Sanchez heads up the list at No. 19 based on the first seven shows booked on his ongoing spring tour — his first ever as a headliner. He is followed at No. 21 by former ACM Entertainer of the Year Thomas Rhett who enters the chart based on the first three dates from the two-week-long Canadian leg of his “Bring The Bar To You” trek. He originally kicked off the tour last year with a string of amphitheater and arena dates in U.S. markets that grossed an average of 702k per show with a sold-ticket average of 11,384.

Also bowing on the chart are Cardi B at No. 28 after her casino performance in the Phoenix area heading into Super Bowl weekend. Moneybagg Yo follows at No. 29 with his recent arena show in Tupelo, Mississippi in late January, then the 30th ranking goes to Lil Durk who grossed $242,639 from 3,417 sold tickets at MVP Arena in Albany, N.Y. on Feb. 10.
On LIVE75, 16 concert headliners make their first chart appearance this week with Robbie Williams ranked highest among them at No. 3. He scores the “Hot Shot” tag based on three performances, Feb. 5, 6 and 8, at Lanxess Arena in Cologne, Germany. He performed for 42,600 fans during the run for a ticket average of 14,200 per show. Grosses at the arena hit $5.3 million. The singer’s “XXV” tour is booked through August in Europe to celebrate his 25 years as a solo artist.

Also making a first appearance on LIVE75 is Singaporean singer JJ Lin who holds the No. 12 ranking with a ticket average of 8,835 from five performances at four American venues in January and February. Among the venues on his tour were MGM Grand Garden in Las Vegas where he sold 16,199 tickets at shows on Jan. 28-29. February shows were held at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut, SAP Center in San Jose, California and Seattle’s Climate Pledge Arena. His gross from the five shows topped $13 million from a ticket count of 44,175.

Billy Joel makes a move from No. 2 to the top position on LIVE75 with a four-show ticket average of 36,693, based largely on his stadium performances in Oceania last December. Sellout crowds at Auckland, New Zealand and Melbourne, Australia contribute to his gross average of $5.5 million, the highest on the chart this week. It earns the entertainment legend the “Heavy Hitter” classification for a third consecutive time.

Ed Sheeran has a three-peat at No. 1 on the Artist Power Index based on concerts at New Zealand venues that kicked off the Oceania leg of his “Mathematics” tour. He has the second-highest Live rank of the week behind Red Hot Chili Peppers who land at No. 10 on the chart based on six stadium dates Down Under