Not Like Us: Kendrick Lamar / SZA’s ‘Grand National Tour’ Claims No. 4 Spot For The Year, Demonstrates American Hip-Hop’s Global Appeal

‘Grand National Tour’
Gross: $358,708,521
Tickets Sold: 1,761,880
Avg. Ticket Price: $203.59
No. of Dates: 39

One major 2025 tour showing that success can come from sticking to your guns and doing it your own way is Kendrick Lamar and SZA’s “Grand National Tour,” a three-hour, dual-headlined spectacle spanning genres and storylines.

The tour was a smash by any measure, landing at No. 4 for the year with a gross of $358.7 million on 39 dates across the United States and Europe. The tour’s average gross of roughly $9.2 million per night is eclipsed only by Beyoncé and Oasis.

Lamar is an artist who has uniquely shaped popular culture and united mainstream music fans, the critical press and even hip-hop purists.

The success of Lamar is even more remarkable considering that, when given the largest platforms – such as the Super Bowl halftime show in February – he pulls no punches. The Feb. 11 performance at Las Vegas’ Allegiant Stadium, which also included SZA, featured a notably all-Black cast and ensemble, a Black Uncle Sam portrayed by the lovably foul-mouthed movie star Samuel L. Jackson and — absolutely inexplicable to most gray-haired relatives tuning in from the recliner — a crip-walking Serena Williams, and that’s not even getting into the not-so-subtle digs aimed at rival superstar rapper Drake.

The performance turned heads and showed that hip-hop has not only entered the mainstream but dominates it, with the ubiquitous “Not Like Us” becoming a counter-culture anthem, poison-barbed diss track, and in many ways song of the year.
The song was even adopted as an anthem for Kendrick’s hometown World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers, notably up against the Toronto Blue Jays, leading to a mostly good natured continuation of the Kendrick/Drake feud for many music fans.

Maybe it should be no surprise, then, that the subsequent “Grand National Tour” would similarly excite crowds across continents.
The trek was also a chance to prove that SZA too was ready to command stadium stages following her debut arena tour, which ran 2023-2024 in support of her second album, SOS.

Kicking off in April at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, the “Grand National Tour” was presented by Live Nation, pgLang and Top Dawg Entertainment, with massive per-night grosses at venues including MetLife Stadium ($24.8 million over two nights), Allegiant Stadium ($14.6 million), Lumen Field in Seattle ($15.4 million) and overseas blockbusters including Tottenham Hotspur in London, where the Grand National Tour grossed $17 million over two nights July 22-23. A third SoFi Stadium date was added for Los Angeles, each of which grossed more than $13.5 million.

Into the end of 2025, Lamar continued the “Grand National Tour” without SZA, who is working on a film project, with Australia and South American stadiums including markets like Buenos Aires, Argentina (34,367 tickets, Oct. 4); Santiago, Chile; and Bogotá, Colombia.

The show featured elaborate production marvels, from a decked out Pontiac on a massive bridge, SZA’s forest and insect themes including riding a giant ant and being followed by giant preying mantises, and joint performances for tracks like “All The Stars,” “LOVE” and “30 for 30, with fans appreciating thoughtful transitions, theatrical moments and, of course, top-notch energetic performances from the artists and backup performers themselves. Appropriately, a focal point of the show is “Not Like Us,” a colorful collage of Black history and art that spans continents and decades, representing a tribute to Black excellence rather than a mere diss track.