Chart Scene: SZA Makes Top 10 Debut On Artist Power Index

SZA makes her 2024 debut on the Artist Power Index ranked No. 8 after playing the first multiple-show arena date on her “SOS Tour” this year. She performed April 13-16 at Spark Arena in Auckland, New Zealand, to kick off a string of 11 concerts in Oceania through May 2. After her opening shows, she will play three arenas in Australia beginning with a two-night run at Brisbane Entertainment Centre. Then, she is booked for three nights at both Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney and Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne. Following the trek Down Under, she will be headlining various festivals in both North America and Europe until early September.

The four-time Grammy Award winner launched the tour supporting her second studio album, 2022’s SOS, in February of last year with over 50 headlining dates planned at arenas on both continents in 2023. According to box office figures reported last year, her average gross came to about $1.69 million per show with each performance selling just over 13,000 tickets.

Of the U.S. arenas she played in 2023, four hosted SZA for two consecutive nights – two in the New York City area and two in the Los Angeles market. Brooklyn’s Barclays Center moved the most tickets of the four with 27,673 sold Oct. 6-7, while L.A.’s Crypto.com Arena followed with 26,892 sold seats Oct. 22-23. Earlier, a March 4-5 Madison Square Garden run logged 26,574 tickets sold and Kia Forum in Inglewood, California, sold 25,026 for concerts on March 22-23.

Along with SZA, country touring giant Luke Combs also makes his APX debut, entering the chart at No. 11 following the kickoff of his “Growin’ Up and Gettin’ Old Tour.” The opening weekend on the trek took place at Milwaukee’s American Family Field April 12-13, the first of 12 two-night stadium engagements planned on weekends through Aug. 10.

Also with a debut in the Top 15 on the Artist Power Index, Mariah Carey appears on the chart at No. 14 following the beginning of her latest Las Vegas residency. She launched “The Celebration of Mimi” at Dolby Live at Park MGM on April 12 with seven more shows to follow during the month. She last appeared in residency at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace with her “The Butterfly Returns” production (2018-20).

The highest-ranked debut on LIVE75 belongs to Mexican band Maná at No. 12, based on an average ticket count of 11,069 from three performances, April 10, 12 and 13, at Movistar Arena in Bogotá, Colombia. The group last appeared on the chart in Pollstar’s Dec. 4, 2023 issue following performances last October and November at five U.S. venues. Attendance topped 13,000 at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey; Amway Center (now Kia Center) in Orlando, Florida, and Philadelphia’s Wells Fargo Center, while an Austin, Texas, event at Moody Center topped 12,000 sold seats. Then at Hard Rock Live in Hollywood, Florida, the band played for 6,282 fans, moving 97% of the available tickets for the show.

LIVE75’s top-ranked touring artist is Karol G who claimed No. 1 in three previous issues this year and the second spot on the chart in one other week. On the Artist Power Index, however, Drake jumps three positions to take the No. 1 ranking for the first time in 2024, although he scored the second ranking in six issues. This week his chart-topping performance is based on a string of seven concerts at four arenas on his “It’s All A Blur Tour” that wrapped on April 5.

Box office figures have been reported at two of his venues including Prudential Center where he sold 31,264 tickets at the tour’s final two shows, April 4-5, and grossed $6.8 million. And an earlier two-night stint at Oklahoma City’s Paycom Center drew a crowd of 15,914 on March 18 and 16,089 more the next night, with combined grosses from both sold-out shows hitting $6.2 million.