Stray Kids break Aussie K-pop ticket sales record
Stray Kids have broken the record for the most tickets sold by a K-pop boy band in Australia.
The group have sold more than 42,000 tickets across four shows – two nights each at Melbourne’s Rod Laver Arena (17-18 February) and Sydney’s Qudos Bank Arena (21-22 February) – on their current Maniac tour, produced by Live Nation.
The previous record was held by Big Bang, who played two nights at Qudos Bank Arena and one night at Rod Laver Arena on their Live Nation-promoted 2015 Made tour.
“The immense popularity of Stray Kids highlights the strong demand for K-Pop in the market and the ever-growing fanbase of the genre in Australia”
“Live Nation is committed to the development of K-pop, not just within Australia but across the Asia Pacific,” says Live Nation Korea MD Yongbae Cho. “This is evidenced by our commitment to touring K-pop in the region, having toured Blackpink, Big Bang, G-Dragon, GOT7, and many others.”
The run marks Stray Kids’ first arena tour in Australia, with the first arena dates selling out within hours of tickets going on sale. The tour will also mark the return of Aussie-Korean members Bang Chan and Felix to Australia, who are set to perform in front of their hometown crowd in Sydney.
“The immense popularity of Stray Kids highlights the strong demand for K-Pop in the market and the ever-growing fanbase of the genre in Australia,” adds Cho.
“There is a broad community who’s very engaged in the genre in pretty much every market around the world”
Blackpink are also set to visit Australia in June. Roger Field, president of Live Nation Asia Pacific, discussed the K-pop phenomenon in a recent interview with The Australian.
“It’s increasingly part of the mainstream pop offering,” says Field. “A lot of people may not be across it, but there is a broad community who’s very engaged in the genre in pretty much every market around the world, because it delivers fashion, catchy songs, and a lifestyle.
“We’ve had the privilege of a long commitment to growing the genre across the globe, and that commitment is pulling all the levers to escalate these artists very quickly into arenas and stadiums.”
The rise of the genre will be explored in How K-pop Conquered the World, the opening panel of this year’s ILMC at 10am on Wednesday 1 March, chaired by Tommy Jinho Yoon of ICA-Live-Asia.
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