According to Forbes, Beyoncé is poised to earn more than Swift in tour gross:
“Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter — also known as Queen Bey — could clear nearly $2.2 billion from her Renaissance World Tour — some $600 million more than the $1.6 billion Taylor Swift could earn from Eras. Those eyepopping estimates are based on the most optimistic assumptions of the number of fans buying tickets at their concerts and high average ticket prices of about $700.
They also assume the artists take home a considerable share of merchandise proceeds and pay tour expenses of 20% of revenues — leaving them with the other 80%. Renaissance could gross between $275 million and $2.57 billion from tickets alone by the time it ends in September. Beyoncé’s most optimistic ticket revenue estimate — $2.57 billion — is well above Eras‘ $1.9 billion most optimistic box office.”
There were also parallels drawn between the two tours upon Beyoncé’s Renaissance World Tour announcement at the start of February.
Bad Bunny was the star of WWE Backlash 2023 on Saturday, May 6, at Coliseo de Puerto Rico José Miguel Agrelot in San Juan, Puerto Rico. He received an electric embrace from his home fans, as they sang along to his “Chambea” single from 2017, before entering the ring and delivering what Uproxx described as “one of the most entertaining matches in WWE this year.”
The following day, Bad Bunny shared his battle scars on his Instagram Story. His victory came at a price. He posted a photo of his bare back marked with bruises and scrapes.
“I’m taking a break. 2023 is for me, for my physical health, my emotional health to breathe, enjoy my achievements. We’re going to celebrate. Let’s go here, let’s go there, let’s go on the boat,” he told the publication. “I have a couple of sporadic commitments, and I’ll go to the studio, but there’s no pressure. Remember yourself, cabrón. You’ve worked your ass off.”
If the last five months have been what Benito considers “a break,” then the rest of us should be ashamed.
The Weeknd has been one of the most successful pop stars of the past decade-plus, but at some point soon, The Weeknd may be no more.
In a new feature for W, the singer, whose real name is Abel Tesfaye, said, “I’m going through a cathartic path right now. It’s getting to a place and a time where I’m getting ready to close the Weeknd chapter. I’ll still make music, maybe as Abel, maybe as The Weeknd. But I still want to kill The Weeknd. And I will. Eventually. I’m definitely trying to shed that skin and be reborn.”
He also noted, “The album I’m working on now is probably my last hurrah as The Weeknd. This is something that I have to do. As The Weeknd, I’ve said everything I can say.”
Elsewhere, he spoke about letting his home be used for filming The Idol, saying, “The bedrooms were now greenrooms; the bathrooms were for hair and makeup. We built a music studio in the basement so Mike Dean, who helped compose, and I could score the show while we were filming. I had to stay in character, so I took my dog and we lived in another house. My home belonged to the show; it was a hub of activity. We were trying to blur the line between fiction and reality. We had cameras going all the time. It was weird when they all left. I changed all the furniture. I replastered the walls. But the soul of Jocelyn’s house is still in there.”
During her time in the spotlight, Lizzo, unfortunately, has dealt with body shaming, whether from Kanye West or Aries Spears or Twitter trolls. Now, another name can be added to that list: PK Subban, a recently retired NHL all-star who’s currently a hockey analyst with ESPN.
During a recent broadcast (as The Huffington Post notes), Subban and his co-hosts were discussing the the NHL’s ongoing Stanley Cup Playoffs, specifically the Toronto Maple Leafs’ recent home loss to the Florida Panthers. John Buccigross said the Leafs should “pack a lunch” in preparation for the next game, and Subban replied, “Maybe they need to pack a Lizzo-sized lunch.”
Subban has yet to offer a public comment about what he said, but he did take to Twitter to explain the meaning of all the lunch talk, writing, “Pack a lunch… lock in! Be ready to compete! Bring work boots! Expect that they are going to try and outwork you in hard areas!”
Naturally, people didn’t care for Subban’s Lizzo joke. One Twitter user wrote, “My dad on Subban’s Lizzo comment last night. ‘Subban took cheap shots all through his hockey career. Why did anyone think he’d stop after he retired?’” Another said, “‘Maybe they need to pack a lizzo sized lunch.’ PK Subban. F*ck you, PK. Black women aren’t a punchline for you.”
My dad on Subban’s Lizzo comment last night.
“Subban took cheap shots all through his hockey career. Why did anyone think he’d stop after he retired?”
“Maybe they need to pack a lizzo sized lunch.” PK Subban. Fuck you, PK. Black women aren’t a punchline for you.
— cursed maple leafs fan (theythem/hehim) (@Wesoninternet) May 3, 2023
Check out some more reactions below.
The disgusting people enjoying PK Subban’s comment about Lizzo are exactly WHY he should have kept his mouth shut.
I’ve been a PK fan and supporter from day one – but his recent comments on Pride and now this? I don’t see him the same way anymore. This is not okay. pic.twitter.com/1Y2lqow49G
Just want to watch hockey without some panelists making a dig at women. First it was biz saying women only watch hockey for the men & now pk Subban saying a Lizzo size lunch. Ugh
Lizzo’s hectic schedule appears to be taking a toll on her health. In the past weeks alone, the “Special” singer has fiercely hit the road as part of her 2Special North American Tour, took the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival stage, attended and performed at the 2023 Met Gala. However, yesterday (May 4), the recording artist could not grace the Bell Centre stage in Montreal Canada, for her scheduled concert due to health concerns.
Initially, the news of Lizzo’s flu-like symptoms was shared on Twitter. However, her profile is now private. So, in a video shared on the musician’s official Instagram, she recorded a message for fans confirming that she would not take the stage. As the recording artist wrapped in bed with a face mask on, Lizzo provided an update on her condition with the video captioned, “Montreal, I’m so sorry, but I physically cannot do the show. I promise we will honor your tickets.”
“I had a sore throat last night and a headache and went to bed,” she continued. “I woke up this morning, and my body is weak, and I have chills, and my head hurts. Normally, if it’s just a cold, I’d shower, I’d eat, take some medicine, and it gets better. But this is getting worse.”
Lizzon went on to say, “I think it’s the flu, and I have to make the unfortunate decision to cancel today. I want to find a date to reschedule, but I just can’t perform tonight.”
The singer closed by saying, “This is the second time I’ve ever had to cancel due to health in my entire career, and I will make it up to you, Montreal. I’m so sorry.”
As Complex notes, the cancellation came just an hour before the show was set to start.
Fans flooded the video’s comment section with well wishes. One fan pointed out that she and others should practice mindfulness regarding their health, writing, “We’re still in a pandemic. Covid is brutal. I encourage people to continue to mask up in crowded areas and, especially for, immune-compromised, chronically ill, marginalized, disabled people. If you really don’t care about us – be selfish and do it for yourself. It’s disabling. I hope you get better soon, Lizzo – well wishes on recovery and nothing else.”
Lizzo’s next scheduled tour stop is slated for tomorrow (May 6) at the XL Center in Hartford, Connecticut. There hasn’t yet been any sort of announcement regarding possible changes to that show.
Lizzo is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Marshmello and Brent Faiyaz have teamed up for a new heartbreak anthem — only this time, Faiyaz is doing the heartbreaking. Over a simple, rolling, percussive beat produced by Marshmello, Faiyaz reminds someone of his intentions and insists that it wasn’t his fault that she got her heartbroken.
“You ain’t fall in love with me / You fell in love with the man I could be / You ain’t fall in love with me / You fell in love with your vision of me,” sings Faiyaz on the song’s chorus.
Elsewhere in the song, Faiyaz notes that while he considers himself a kind person, he isn’t responsible for the way anyone else feels.
“I can ease your mind if you goin’ through somethin’ / That don’t mean I can cure depression / I free my night if you wanna do somethin’ / But I’m takin’ your direction,” he sings.
In the song’s accompanying visual, Faiyaz is seen going on a drive in the woods with a young woman. They park the car and hang out in the woods for a bit, and while he is protective of the woman, he reminds her not to get her hopes up, in terms of romance.
On September 18, 2020, Ava Max released her debut album, Heaven & Hell. Around that time, she celebrated the project’s release with a launch party. The event didn’t take place in some personally meaningful place like her hometown, or in a major city among the big lights. Instead, it happened on Roblox.
Some context: Earlier that year, the COVID-19 pandemic (you might be aware of it) forced the world to essentially shut down. This put the live entertainment industry on pause. Concerts and other in-person events were temporarily no more. Oof!
More context: Roblox, an online game creation platform, launched in 2006 and has grown substantially since then. It was reported in 2022 that Roblox had 57 million daily users (and that half of them were under 12 years old).
So, with both of those things in mind, Ava Max and her team decided to launch Heaven & Hell on Roblox. On September 25, the event began. After a countdown, a pre-recorded video message from Ava Max played, in which she spoke about the event, discussed her new album, and answered some questions. She then sang two songs before the video ended.
It was a neat experiment, as IRL events weren’t super possible at the time. So, Ava Max made the best of the situation and came through with something intriguing and different. Different, but also something of a return to normalcy: While the music industry was on hold, Ava Max pressed forward via the means available to her and delivered as close to a familiar experience as was possible.
It was also just the start.
A few weeks later, Lil Nas X got in on the Roblox fun. On November 14 and 15, the rapper put on quite the show. He opened with a performance of “Old Town Road” before a digital costume change and a rendition of “Rodeo” as bats flew above him. The environment allowed for some fantastical elements not possible in a real-life concert. As the Roblox Wiki describes, the show involved tornadoes, a shift to a futuristic setting, Lil Nas X levitating in front of the moon, and a black hole.
Those were the first two concerts experiences on Roblox, and from there, artists like Elton John, Mariah Carey, aespa, Soccer Mommy, Saweetie, and others hosted their own virtual events. Were they worse than in-person shows? Well, that’s hard to say.
Leaving the house, bringing your physical body to a different environment, and seeing artists in front of your face isn’t something that can be replicated on a phone, computer, or game console. It’s a special experience than can really only be felt that specific way. The thing is, though, that virtual concerts don’t need to be that. In terms of what an in-person show offers, virtual shows can’t do it. They just can’t. In other ways, however, they can present much more.
Stage design for major tours can be incredible, but Lil Nas X isn’t getting functional tornadoes and black holes on a real-life stage. Roblox has long been an open forum for imaginative expression for its users and the same has been true when it comes to virtual concerts. It’s an opportunity for artists to put on a concert in ways they could never pull off otherwise. Give the world’s most talented and creative entertainers a limitless environment and special moments are bound to result.
Furthermore, sometimes, committing a few hours to going downtown, finding parking, getting to the venue, watching a concert, and making your way home is a lot. Nights when that seems overwhelming are the perfect occasion to just open an app on your phone/computer and catch some more convenient live entertainment, to still get the feeling that you’re watching something grand unfold in the moment.
Worth noting is that as novel as this whole thing may seem, a Roblox virtual concert isn’t a completely new idea (and not just because Fortnite did it before them, like with the Marshmello event in February 2019). Roblox events represent what the live entertainment business has long been about: meeting people where they are.
Really, performers have been bringing their shows to the people for a long as it’s been possible: Shortly after the completion of the transcontinental railroad in 1869, circuses started traveling to the western half of the US. People were in their hometowns and most of them presumably didn’t have the means for significant travel (especially for leisure), so the entertainers went to them.
From there, music tours eventually became a major business, and some performers went beyond even just showing up in people’s cities. In the ’90s and ’00s, music lovers young and old spent a lot of time at the then-thriving malls. So, artists like Britney Spears and Avril Lavigne got set up between Claire’s and the food court to get a performance in. That’s where the people were, so that’s where the artists were.
The COVID-19 pandemic brought more popularity to remote-friendly practices like working from home and consuming the majority of entertainment online. Folks were in their rooms and on the internet, so that’s where the artists went.
Again, Roblox isn’t the first video game platform to host a virtual concert: Shout out to Duran Duran for performing a Second Life show in 2006. Roblox was, though, a leader in bringing them to the mainstream at the perfect time. It’s where the people were, and it’s where the artists could be whatever they wanted to be.
In 2023, the live entertainment industry is at the point where concert tours have long been back in full swing. This doesn’t mean virtual events should go back and hide in their hole of obscurity, though. Video games and other online products are as popular as they’ve ever been, and musicians are more open-minded and creatively free than ever before when it comes to self-promotional strategies.
So yes, for most artists, in-person events will return to their spot as the live entertainment priority. There’s no reason why virtual concerts can’t be a piece of the puzzle, though. While they had to fill in as the main feature for a little bit, really, they’re a different side of the same coin, one that offers its own unique value. It’s all just meeting people where they are, and as where they are changes, artists, as they always have, adapt and push the industry in exciting new directions.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
After the ruling was handed out, outside the courthouse, Sheeran told reporters (as Evening Standard notes):
“I’m obviously very happy with the outcome of this case and it looks like I’m not going to have to retire from my day job after all. But at the same time, I am absolutely frustrated that baseless claims like this are allowed to go to court at all. If the jury had decided this matter the other way, we might as well say goodbye to the creative freedom of songwriters. We need to be able to write our original music and engage in independent creativity without worrying at every step on the way that said creativity will be wrongly called into question.”
(The singer’s joke about retirement references a recent comment he made about potentially being found guilty: “If that happens, I’m done, I’m stopping. I find it really insulting to devote my whole life to being a performer and a songwriter and have someone diminish it.”)
AP also noted of Sheeran’s immediate reaction to the verdict, “As the jury answered the single question of whether Sheeran proved he didn’t infringe upon the copyright in the affirmative, the crooner briefly put his hands over his face in relief before standing and hugging his lawyer. As jurors left the courtroom, Sheeran quietly mouthed “thank you” in their direction. He then spoke for about 10 minutes with the plaintiffs, including the daughter of Ed Townsend, who co-created the 1973 soul classic with Gaye. They hugged and smiled with each other.”
Ed Sheeran is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
In recent days, Ed Sheeran has had a lot going on. One of the more annoying is surely the lawsuit he’s been facing from the heirs of Ed Townsend, a co-writer of Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get It On.” In the suit, it is alleged that Sheeran stole elements of the song and used them in his own hit single, 2014’s “Thinking Out Loud.” Now, the trial has concluded and the jury has reached a ruling, The Associated Press reports: He didn’t do it.
Today (May 4), the New York jury shared their conclusion about if “Sheeran proved he didn’t infringe upon the copyright” and they took his side. When the verdict was delivered and the two-week trial came to a close, Sheeran “briefly put his hands over his face in relief before standing and hugging his lawyer.”
In a recent interview with Zane Lowe, Sheeran said, “The thing with these cases, it’s not usually songwriters that are suing songwriters. I feel like in the songwriting community, everyone sort of knows that there’s four chords primarily that are used and there’s eight notes. And we work with what we’ve got, with doing that.”
Sheeran was so frustrated by the lawsuit that he recently said of potentially being found guilty, “If that happens, I’m done, I’m stopping. I find it really insulting to devote my whole life to being a performer and a songwriter and have someone diminish it.”
Ed Sheeran is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Much has been made about the upcoming The Little Mermaid remake (set for May 26) and Halle Bailey’s leading role in it. Not all fans around the world will get to experience her complete performance, though. Disney is, of course, a global brand, so The Little Mermaid will be available on non-English territories. Various dubbed versions of the movie will be presented around the world, and for the South Korean version, it looks like they got Danielle, of K-pop group NewJeans, to voice Bailey’s role.
As Billboard reports, Disney Korea shared a teaser poster on May 1, which teased who would be voicing Ariel with a blank outlined figure. Fans quickly figured out, though, that the figure was indeed Danielle, even finding the exact photo used for the silhouette.
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