Jay-Z and Kanye West top the first Hot Tours ranking of 2012 with box office grosses reported from their Watch the Throne Tour that played North American markets from October through December.  This week's tally includes ticket revenue from venues in New York City, Los Angeles and Pittsburgh totaling $10.3 million from six sold out concerts.  New York's Madison Square Garden moved 27,649 tickets for a two-night run on Nov. 7-8, while Pittsburgh's CONSOL Energy Center reported a crowd of 11,957 for a single performance on Nov. 27.  In December, the tour played a three-show stint at Staples Center in Los Angeles with gross sales just over $5.1 million.  Combined attendance for all three shows (Dec. 11-13) was 42,332.

Dolly Parton takes second place this week with $4.8 million in reported ticket sales from three venues on the Australian leg of her Better Day World Tour that wrapped at the beginning of December.  The country star performed in Western Australia on Nov. 8 at Burswood Dome in Perth with 12,494 in attendance, and then played for 5,957 fans in the South Australian city of Adelaide on Nov. 12.  Also included in this week's Hot Tours recap is a $1.9 million gross from two shows at the Hope Estate Winery's outdoor amphitheater in Hunter Valley, north of Sydney.  Parton performed a total of 12 concerts in Australia during the final leg of her 2011 tour, grossing over $15.4 million Down Under with 95,858 tickets sold in six markets.

Landing at No. 3 this week is Britney Spears with two concerts reported from the final weeks of her 2011 Femme Fatale Tour that ended in December.  Her tally includes her sold out concert in Caracas, Venezuela on Nov. 28 as well as a Dec. 10 performance in Puerto Rico.  The Caracas show was held at the football stadium on the campus of the Universidad Simón Bolívar, and the concert in Puerto Rico occurred at the Coliseo de Puerto Rico José Miguel Agrelot in the San Juan suburb of Hato Rey.