Khalid Flies to New Heights With $30 Million On Free Spirit World Tour
9/20/2019 by Eric Frankenberg
Khalid performs live on stage during his 'Free Spirit' World tour at The O2 Arena on Sept. 17, 2019 in London, England.
The Sept. 21-dated Hot Tours recap trades in veteran rock acts like The Rolling Stones, Metallica, and KISS, as well as country leaders like Florida Georgia Line, Thomas Rhett, and Brad Paisley. But the tally’s youngest act, both in terms of age and length of career, took a different route to the latest roundup, selling out major-market arenas for the first time.
According to figures reported to Billboard Boxscore, Khalid added $21.9 million to the Free Spirit World Tour total with this week’s reports. After a full North American leg of 35 dates over the summer, the pop-R&B prince’s 2019 total stands at $29.5 million and 445,515 tickets sold.
Prior to 2019, Khalid had not yet surpassed $1 million from a single engagement but since the beginning of the Free Spirit World Tour on June 20, 2019, he has done so seven times. The highest highs, perhaps unsurprisingly, came in New York (Madison Square Garden; July 31-Aug. 1; $2.3 million), Los Angeles (Staples Center; June 25-26; $1.6 million), and Toronto (Scotiabank Arena; Aug. 6-7; $1.5 million). His Canadian double-header makes an appearance on this week’s Boxscore chart at No. 32.
Single-night million-dollar nights occurred in St. Paul, Minn., Washington, D.C., Detroit, and Chicago, each earning $1-1.1 million.
His 2019 North American total triples the reported $9.6 million earnings from the 2018 Roxy Tour. On a per-show level, Khalid increases by 137% from $355,000 to $843,000, while barely increasing ticket prices (the average ticket bumped from $53.65 to $66.26). The El Paso native juiced his earnings by simply selling more tickets -- while his 2018 shows averaged 6,629 fans each night, he’s maintained a pace of 12,729 in 2019, an attendance increase of 92%.
Khalid’s touring business is rising alongside the rest of his career. In 2019, he notched his first No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 with Free Spirit and “Talk” became his highest-peaking single as a lead artist on the Hot 100 (“Talk” reached No. 3 on the chart dated June 8, 2019 and remained there for four non-consecutive weeks).
The Free Spirit World Tour continues in Europe through Oct. 9 and then has 7 scheduled dates in Australia and New Zealand from Nov. 20 through Dec. 5.
See below for the full Hot Tours recap.
| HOT TOURS - SEPT. 21, 2019 | |
| Ranked by Gross, Compiled from Boxscores reported Sept. 10 - 16 | |
| ACT | |
| Total Gross | |
| Show Date Range | |
| Venue, City (Shows/Sellouts) | |
| Total Attendance (Capacity) | |
| RANK | |
| 1 | The Rolling Stones |
| $69,449,980 | |
| Aug. 10 - 30 | |
| Mile High Stadium, Denver, Colo. (1/1) | |
| CenturyLink Field, Seattle, Wash. (1/1) | |
| Levi's Stadium, Santa Clara, Calif. (1/1) | |
| Rose Bowl, Pasadena, Calif. (1/1) | |
| State Farm Stadium, Glendale, Ariz. (1/1) | |
| Hard Rock Stadium, Miami, Fla. (1/1) | |
| 310,255 (310,255) | |
| 2 | Metallica |
| $32,962,386 | |
| Aug. 14 - 25 | |
| Stadionul National, Bucharest, Romania (0/1) | |
| Ernst Happel Stadion, Vienna, Austria (0/1) | |
| Letany Airport, Prague, Czech Republic (0/1) | |
| PGE Narodowy, Warsaw, Poland (1/1) | |
| Olympiastadion, Munich, Germany (0/1) | |
| Maimankt, Mannheim, Germany (0/1) | |
| 362,467 (363,460) | |
| 3 | Khalid |
| $21,948,615 | |
| June 20 - Aug. 17 | |
| Gila River Arena, Glendale, Ariz. (1/1) | |
| Golden 1 Center, Sacramento, Calif. (1/1) | |
| Moda Center, Portland, Ore. (1/1) | |
| Rogers Place, Edmonton, Alberta (1/1) | |
| Tacoma Dome, Tacoma, Wash. (1/1) | |
| Spokane Arena, Spokane, Wash. (1/1) | |
| Pepsi Center, Denver, Colo. (1/1) | |
| AT&T Center, San Antonio, Texas (1/1) | |
| Toyota Center, Houston, Texas (1/1) | |
| Chesapeake Energy Arena, Oklahoma City, Okla. (1/1) | |
| Sprint Center, Kansas City, Mo. (1/1) | |
| Xcel Energy Center, St. Paul, Minn. (1/1) | |
| United Center, Chicago (1/1) | |
| Nationwide Arena, Columbus, Ohio (1/1) | |
| Little Caesars Arena, Detroit, Mich. (1/1) | |
| PPG Paints Arena, Pittsburgh, Pa. (1/1) | |
| Madison Square Garden, New York, N.Y. (2/2) | |
| Capital One Arena, Washington, D.C. (1/1) | |
| XL Center, Hartford, Conn. (1/1) | |
| Scotiabank Arena, Toronto (2/2) | |
| TD Garden, Boston, Mass. (1/1) | |
| Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, Pa. (1/1) | |
| Spectrum Center, Charlotte, N.C. (1/1) | |
| Amway Center, Orlando, Fla. (1/1) | |
| American Airlines Arena, Miami (1/1) | |
| 336,485 (336,485) | |
| 4 | Florida Georgia Line |
| $20,646,441 | |
| Aug. 1 - 31 | |
| Riverbend Music Center, Cincinnati, Ohio (1/1) | |
| KeyBank Pavilion, Burgettstown, Pa. (1/1) | |
| Jiffy Lube Live, Bristow, Va. (1/1) | |
| Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre, Maryland Heights, Mo. (1/1) | |
| Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre, Tinley Park, Ill. (1/1) | |
| DTE Energy Music Theatre, Clarkston, Mich. (1/1) | |
| Lakeview Amphitheater, Syracuse, N.Y. (1/1) | |
| The Pavilion at Montage Mountain, Scranton, Pa. (1/1) | |
| Hersheypark Stadium, Hershey, Pa. (1/1) | |
| DTE Energy Music Theatre, Clarkston, Mich. (1/1) | |
| Blossom Music Center, Cuyahuga Falls, Ohio (1/1) | |
| Darien Lake Performing Arts Center, Darien Lake, N.Y. (1/1) | |
| Coral Sky Amphitheatre, West Palm Beach, Fla. (1/1) | |
| MidFlorida Credit Union Amphitheatre, Tampa, Fla. (1/1) | |
| Cellaris Amphitheatre at Lakewood, Atlanta, Ga. (1/1) | |
| 305,314 (306,022) | |
| 5 | KISS |
| $12,241,333 | |
| Aug. 6 - 31 | |
| BB&T Center, Sunrise, Fla. (1/1) | |
| North Charleston Coliseum, North Charleston, S.C. (1/1) | |
| PNC Music Pavilion, Charlotte, N.C. (1/1) | |
| Jiffy Lube Live, Bristow, Va. (1/1) | |
| Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater at Virginia Beach, Virginia Beach, Va. (1/1) | |
| Prudential Center, Newark, N.J. (1/1) | |
| Scotiabank Arena, Toronto (1/1) | |
| Barclays Center, Brooklyn (1/1) | |
| Hersheypark Stadium, Hershey, Pa. (1/1) | |
| Darien Lake Performing Arts Center, Darien Lake, N.Y. (1/1) | |
| Saratoga Performing Arts Center, Saratoga Springs, N.Y. (1/1) | |
| Lakeview Amphitheater, Syracuse, N.Y. (1/1) | |
| Riverbend Music Center, Cincinnati, Ohio (1/1) | |
| Ruoff Home Mortgage Music Center, Noblesville, Ind. (1/1) | |
| 171,417 (171,417) | |
| 6 | Hootie & The Blowfish |
| $14,107,633 | |
| Aug. 2 - 31 | |
| Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion, Gilford, N.H. (1/1) | |
| XFINITY Center, Mansfield, Mass. (1/1) | |
| Saratoga Performing Arts Center, Saratoga Springs, N.Y. (1/1) | |
| Merriweather Post Pavilion, Columbia, Md. (1/1) | |
| CMAC Performing Arts Center, Canandaigua, N.Y. (1/1) | |
| Madison Square Garden, New York (2/2) | |
| DTE Energy Music Theatre, Clarkston, Mich. (1/1) | |
| Ruoff Home Mortgage Music Center, Noblesville, Ind. (1/1) | |
| Alpine Valley Music Theatre, East Troy, Wis. (1/1) | |
| Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre, Tinley Park, Ill. (1/1) | |
| Budweiser Stage, Toronto (1/1) | |
| Hersheypark Stadium, Hershey, Pa. (1/1) | |
| XFINITY Theatre, Hartford, Conn. (1/1) | |
| 229,214 (229,214) | |
| 7 | Thomas Rhett |
| $10,018,641 | |
| June 20 - Aug. 10 | |
| DTE Energy Music Theatre, Clarkston, Mich. (1/1) | |
| Ruoff Home Mortgage Music Center, Noblesville, Ind. (1/1) | |
| BB&T Pavilion, Camden, N.J. (1/1) | |
| XFINITY Center, Mansfield, Mass. (1/1) | |
| PNC Bank Arts Center, Holmdel, N.J. (1/1) | |
| Coastal Credit Union Music Park at Walnut Creek, Raleigh, N.C. (0/1) | |
| Riverbend Music Center, Cincinnati, Ohio (1/1) | |
| Cellaris Amphitheatre at Lakewood, Atlanta (0/1) | |
| 157,784 (158,601) | |
| 8 | Jonas Brothers |
| $8,900,321 | |
| Aug. 27 - 31 | |
| KeyBank Center, Buffalo, N.Y. (1/1) | |
| Madison Square Garden, New York (2/2) | |
| Hersheypark Stadium, Hershey, Pa. (1/1) | |
| 74,533 (74,533) | |
| 9 | Brad Paisley |
| $8,873,387 | |
| June 27 - Aug. 31 | |
| Walmart Arkansas Music Pavilion, Rogers, Ark. (0/1) | |
| Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre, Maryland Heights, Mo. (0/1) | |
| Tyson Events Center, Sioux City, Iowa (0/1) | |
| Oak Mounain Amphitheatre, Pelham, Ala. (0/1) | |
| Ruoff Home Mortgage Music Center, Noblesville, Ind. (0/1) | |
| Riverbend Music Center, Cincinnati, Ohio (0/1) | |
| Saratoga Performing Arts Center, Saratoga Springs (0/1) | |
| Lakeview Amphitheater, Syracuse, N.Y. (0/1) | |
| XFINITY Center, Mansfield, Mass. (0/1) | |
| Blossom Music Center, Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio (0/1) | |
| Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre, Tinley Park, Ill. (0/1) | |
| Jiffy Lube Live, Bristow, Va. (0/1) | |
| Coastal Credit Union Park at Walnut Creek, Raleigh, N.C. (0/1) | |
| Daily's Place, Jacksonville, Fla. (0/1) | |
| Coral Sky Amphitheatre, West Palm Beach, Fla. (0/1) | |
| Amphitheater at the Wharf, Orange Beach, Ala. (0/1) | |
| Ameris Bank Amphitheatre, Alpharetta, Ga. (0/1) | |
| PNC Music Pavilion, Charlotte, N.C. (0/1) | |
| XFINITY Theatre, Hartford, Conn. (0/1) | |
| Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater, Wantagh, N.Y. (0/1) | |
| PNC Bank Arts Center, Holmdel, N.J. (0/1) | |
| 238,044 (357,171) | |
| 10 | Ariana Grande |
| $7,962,874 | |
| Aug. 17 - 28 | |
| O2 Arena, London (0/3) | |
| AccorHotels Arena, Paris (0/2) | |
| 81,471 (83,946) |