Kelly Clarkson Finds the 'Meaning Of Life' With Her Biggest Tour Yet
4/4/2019 by Eric Frankenberg
Kelly Clarkson photographed on Oct. 25, 2017 in Los Angeles.
Kelly Clarkson wrapped the Meaning of Life Tour after 28 shows across the country. According to figures reported to Billboard Boxscore, Clarkson grossed $17.5 million and sold over 275,000 tickets, making it the highest grossing tour of the first American Idol winner's career.
The tour performed consistently well, selling out all 28 performances and bringing in no less than $450,000 per night. The tour hit a high point at the TD Garden in Boston, where Clarkson grossed $1.011 million on March 8. This figure makes it her biggest single-night engagement in nearly 15 years. Previously, she had grossed $1.306 million at the Reliant Stadium in her hometown of Houston, Texas (March 16, 2004).
The biggest earner of her career came from 2006’s Addicted Tour, where she pulled in $1.385 million from a double-header at Nikon at Jones Beach Theater in Wantagh, N.Y.
The Meaning of Life Tour eclipses the Addicted Tour and the Breakaway World Tour, both of which supported Clarkson’s 2004 blockbuster release Breakaway. Those tours grossed $9.1 million and $9.7 million, respectively, elevating Clarkson from large theaters and scaled-down arenas to sold-out amphitheaters.
These final grosses bring Clarkson’s career total to $60.7 million, including her solo headline touring combined with her co-headline runs with The Fray, fellow Idol finalist Clay Aiken, and Reba McEntire. Among American Idol contestants, she only trails Carrie Underwood ($177.9 million).
(Separately, Queen recruited Adam Lambert as their acting vocalist beginning in 2014. Billed as Queen + Adam Lambert, these shows have earned $96.2 million, according to figures reported to Billboard Boxscore).
The Meaning of Life Tour is Clarkson’s first trek promoted by Messina Touring Group and AEG Presents, another in a long line of homeruns for the pair of promoters, alongside 2019 runs by Eric Church and Blake Shelton, and following 2018 stadium tours by Ed Sheeran, Taylor Swift, and Kenny Chesney.