Chartscene: Rauw Alejandro Tour Launch Earns Top Chart Debut

With an appearance at No. 11 on the Artist Power Index, Rauw Alejandro enters as the highest-ranked artist making a debut on the chart this week. He lands among the top 50 performers following the launch of his fourth headlining concert tour. On the road to support his third studio album Saturno, released last November, he kicked off the trek in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic on Feb. 18 before heading stateside on March 4 to play Tampa’s Amalie Arena, the first U.S. venue on the tour. Subsequent shows at Gas South Arena in the Atlanta market and Orlando’s Amway Center also qualify for APX chart eligibility.

The Puerto Rican singer-songwriter toured last year in the Americas with his “Vice Verse” jaunt that ran during the first half of the year. With 11 of his North American concerts reported, he averaged a gross of $1.02 million per show for a ticket average of 12,517. Kia Forum in Inglewood, California hosted his top-grossing performance in 2022: a sellout on April 16 that racked up $1.56 million from 13,826 tickets. His top attendance of 22,000 was recorded at Arena CDMX in Mexico City, March 26.

Among the other performers making their first appearance on the Artist Power Index in the most recent 13-week timeframe is Jason Aldean, scoring the No. 21 ranking following his March 6 headlining performance at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo at NRG Stadium. The Zac Brown Band, No. 39, also hits the chart following a performance at the annual Houston rodeo event the previous evening. Both country headliners earn a Live rank in the 30s to secure a position in the top 50.

The top debut on LIVE75 belongs to Rock & Roll Hall of Fame member Journey, appearing at No. 13 as the “Hot Shot” concert headliner based on a three-show ticket average of 10,635 from performances in February and March. The veteran band appeared at PPL Center in Allentown, Pennsylvania; Rupp Arena in Lexington, Kentucky and Washington’s Capital One Arena drawing capacity crowds for an overall ticket count of 31,905 with grosses totaling $3.16 million. The group is ranked highest among the 24 artists making their first appearance on the chart in the past month.

The Tedeschi Trucks Band earns the “Noise Maker” tag on LIVE75 after jumping 12 positions on the chart following the group’s appearance at No. 42 one week earlier. A ticket average of 3,247 per show earns the No. 30 ranking in this issue based on sold-out concerts at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium and two Florida venues, Ruth Eckerd Hall in Clearwater and Barbara B. Mann Performing Arts Hall in Fort Myers. The Jacksonville-based Grammy Award winners are currently booked in U.S. venues through the end of July.

The Artist Power Index and LIVE75 both feature repeat appearances at No. 1 by concert touring heavyweights. Ed Sheeran heads up the APX chart rankings for a fifth consecutive week while the Red Hot Chili Peppers make it two weeks in a row with the top score on LIVE75.

All but the first and last shows on the Oceania leg of Sheeran’s “Mathematics” tour have APX chart eligibility this week which assures him the highest Live rank among all concert performers. The fourth-highest Streaming rank, the 14th best in Airplay and 56th in Social also fuel his control of No. 1 overall. Brisbane, Australia’s Suncorp Stadium had the sole three-night engagement among the stadium dates on his tour Down Under, yet he played two nights at Eden Park in Auckland, New Zealand; Accor Stadium in Sydney and the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

The Red Hot Chili Peppers had two-show stints at two stadiums among the six in Australia and New Zealand that earn the band the No. 1 LIVE75 ranking. From eight Oceania performances on the band’s “Global Stadium” tour, the ticket count totaled 378,610 to average 47,326 per show, while gross averages topped $6 million.