Burna Boy sets another record for highest-grossing tour by African musician in US

Grammy-winning Nigerian singer Damini Ogulu, popularly known as Burna Boy has set yet another groundbreaking record as the first African artiste to stage the highest-grossing arena concert in America.

The Afro-fusion singer achieved the feat after his ‘I Told Them’ tour, which grossed $15.5 million from 15 shows, with revenue from six more concerts.

This also beat the record set after his performance at the Capital One Arena in Washington D.C. on March 7, 2024, which generated $1.725 million in revenue as well as the earlier outing at the TD Garden in Boston on March 2, 2024. That concert generated $1.593 million.

American tour statistics company, Touring Data made this disclosure, in a series of posts on X, on Thursday, June 13.

The platform provided a PDF and spreadsheet with concert ticket sales in North America and Canada to back up its report.

According to Touring Data, Burna Boy’s “I Told Them” tour earned revenue as follows:

Capital One Arena, Washington D.C. (March 7, 2024): 13,892 attendees (100 per cent sell-out), $1,724,853 gross revenue; Hard Rock Live, Hollywood held on March 12, grossed $175.76 in revenue, while his Canada tour grossed $5.7 million from 69,219 tickets sold in six shows.

The record-breaking performances were part of Burna Boy’s “I Told Them” tour, which has already grossed over $11.6 million across 11 reported shows out of a planned 22-stop tour.

This strong showing in the US market further solidifies Burna Boy’s position as a leading figure in Afrobeats and a major international touring act.

Produced by Live Nation, the 16-city tour kicked off on November 3, at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles.

It marked Burna Boy’s first-ever performance in a Los Angeles stadium. He toured other American cities, including Houston, Chicago, Toronto among others before wrapping up in Atlanta at State Farm Arena on March 9th. (Read alsoGrammy organisers name Burna Boy biggest artiste in Africa, Burna Boy makes TIME’s 100 Most Influential People of 2024)

Nine months earlier, the’ African Giant’ had a sold-out show at Citi Field, New York, making him the first Nigerian artiste to headline a stadium in America.

He has continued to push boundaries and dominates global arenas with his craft. His success reflects the growing popularity of Afrobeats music on the global scene. And this is another breakthrough that means so much to African music.