Usher’s London residency reaches double figures
Usher’s residency at The O2 in London as part of his 2025 European tour has stretched to a tenth and final show.
The 45-year-old R&B superstar has already sold out nine nights at the venue for 1-2, 5-6, 8-9 & 11 April and 6-7 May, and will now also perform on 29 March due to “incredible demand”.
London’s flagship venue hosted four concert and residencies in 2023 by Elton John (10), Micky Flanagan (9), Madonna (6) and Chris Brown (6), with 2024 highlights set to include Take That (6), The Killers (6), Girls Aloud (5), Olivia Rodrigo (4) and Liam Gallagher (4).
“Residencies are something that are becoming more and more important in the way we programme the venue,” says Emma Bownes, VP of venue programming at The O2, told IQ last year.
“There is a huge demand for live music at the moment at arena, stadium and outdoor level, so artists are realising they can serve the amount of fan demand by sitting down at The O2. We’re lucky that we’re in London and there’s a huge catchment area of really active music fans. I can see that an artist will opt to play potentially 10 shows at The O2 rather than looking at a stadium or a festival headline slot.”
The USHER: Past Present Future run has sold out 16 concerts across Europe so far
Next year’s USHER: Past Present Future run has sold out 16 concerts across Europe so far, also including stops at Accor Arena in Paris (15-16 April), Amsterdam’s Ziggo Dome (22-23, 25-26 & 28 April) and Berlin’s Uber Arena (1-2 & 4 May).
Aside from his eight-night residency at Paris’ La Seine Musicale in 2023, the Live Nation-produced dates will be his first European shows since 2015’s UR Tour.
The eight-time Grammy Award-winner headlined the Apple Music Super Bowl LVIII Halftime Show last month, joined by special guests Alicia Keys, Ludacris, Lil Jon, H.E.R., Will.i.am and Jermaine Dupri. The performance followed his two-year My Way: The Las Vegas Residency run, which grossed more than $100 million from 100 sellout shows.
He has also extended his upcoming North American tour, which runs from August-November 2024, to almost 60 dates.
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Usher delivers ‘daring’ Super Bowl halftime show
Usher was joined by an all-star cast of artists for his ‘daring’ halftime show at the Super Bowl in Las Vegas, last night.
The R&B star delivered a revered 12-minute medley at the Allegiant Stadium before the Kansas City Chiefs defeated the San Francisco 49ers in an overtime thriller.
The title clash – predicted to be the most-watched NFL game of all time – was watched by an in-person crowd of 65,000 and shown in 190 countries.
The coveted halftime slot saw Usher perform alongside a raft of artists including H.E.R., Alicia Keys, Lil Jon, Ludacris, the Black Eyed Peas’ Will.I.am and Jermaine Dupri.
The singer’s 14-song set included hits such as Yeah!, Confessions Part II, Love in this Club, My Boo, Caught Up and Burn.
Prior to the Super Bowl halftime performance, Usher said he would honour Black musical legacy at the event. “I think about what our country has represented for Black artists, having to, at some point, go through kitchens to even be able to perform for an audience,” he told Good Morning America.
“I was not exaggerating when I [said] that my performance would be a celebration of the past 30 years of my career”
“They had to leave back through that same door, you know, fearing for their lives as they went to the next state to do the same thing. So I’m coming through the front door with this one. I think about all the R&B performers who are carrying this moment.”
Earlier in the night, Post Malone kicked off the festivities, delivering a special acoustic performance before the game began.
“I was not exaggerating when I shared with the world that my performance would be a celebration of the past 30 years of my career,” said Usher after the event. “I will never forget the energy from the cast & crew, the fans in the stadium, the guest performers and the adrenaline from this monumental milestone in my career. I’m so happy everyone enjoyed it, my goal always is to bring people together and feel good through my music and performance.”
The 45-year-old today extended his upcoming North America tour, USHER: Past Present Future, to 51 dates.
Last week, the eight-time Grammy Award-winner hit his highest-ever gross from touring with his Las Vegas residencies.
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Usher hits $100m mark with Vegas residencies
Usher has reportedly earned more than $100 million from his prolonged stint in Las Vegas, marking his highest-ever gross from touring.
In July 2021, he launched Usher: The Las Vegas Residency at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace and a year later, he moved down the strip to MGM’s Dolby Live for My Way: The Vegas Residency.
The Caesars residency comprised 14 shows in July and August 2021, and another six at the beginning of 2022. Those 20 dates earned $18.8m and sold 84,000 tickets.
The MGM run was more extensive, with 80 shows between July 2022 and December 2023, during which he grossed $95.9m and sold 394,000 tickets.
Usher’s Vegas shows grossed $114.6m and sold 479,000 tickets across 100 dates
Altogether, Usher’s Vegas shows grossed $114.6m and sold 479,000 tickets across 100 dates. Both residencies have averaged a $239 ticket.
On a per-show scale, My Way: The Vegas Residency averaged $1.198m each night, according to Billboard.
The news comes a day before Usher is due to release Coming Home, his first studio LP in eight years. This weekend, the 45-year-old will perform at the Super Bowl.
The eight-time Grammy Award winner has also lined up a US arena tour for later this year called Usher: Past Present Future.
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Usher announces Paris residency
Usher has announced a forthcoming mini-residency in France at Paris’ La Seine Musicale.
The US star will perform the four-night Rendez-Vous A Paris stint – his only confirmed European dates – from 24-25 and 27-28 September 2023, presented by Live Nation.
Fans are promised “never-before-seen costumes, state-of-the-art lighting and special effects” along with a catalogue of hits from Usher’s near 30-year career.
Tickets range from €100.50 to €441.50, and go on sale this Friday (21 April).
The R&B singer is currently in the midst of his latest Las Vegas residency at Dolby Live in Park MGM
The 44-year-old R&B singer, whose last European played Europe as part of his 2014/15 UR Experience Tour, is currently in the midst of his latest Las Vegas residency at Dolby Live in Park MGM, which runs until October.
“I like the idea of what I’ve found in Las Vegas,” Usher told GQ earlier this year. “It gives me an opportunity to settle. I have children now. I got a life, so [I like] being able to have a few days in certain places and being able to celebrate those places and enjoy them. At this age, you try to hold on to the moments.”
Usher also headlined J. Cole’s Dreamville Festival in Raleigh, North Carolina, earlier this month and will star in the second edition of hip-hop and R&B event Lovers & Friends, which returns to the Las Vegas Festival Grounds on 6 May.
Other acts slated to perform at the 6,000-cap La Seine Musicale in the coming months include Norah Jones, 5 Seconds of Summer and John Fogerty.
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Global Citizen Festival to be held in US and Ghana
International advocacy organisation Global Citizen has announced details of the 10th anniversary Global Citizen Festival.
The event will take place across two stages in New York City’s Central Park in the US and Black Star Square in Accra, Ghana on Saturday 24 September.
Performers on the Central Park stage will include Metallica, Charlie Puth, Jonas Brothers, Maneskin, Mariah Carey, Mickey Guyton and Rosalía, while Accra’s Black Star Square will see live performances from acts such as Usher, SZA, Stormzy, Gyakie, H.E.R., Sarkodie, Stonebwoy and TEMS.
“Decades of systemic and political failures have led humanity into the midst of converging and rapidly deteriorating crises – climate, hunger, health, war and conflict,” says Global Citizen co-founder and CEO Hugh Evans. “The most marginalised populations are paying the price of the stagnant inaction of our leaders, and now millions of lives, and the future of our planet, are at stake.
“We demand action now, while there’s still time to change our collective trajectory”
“We refuse to just stand by and watch! We refuse to accept the starvation of multitudes when solutions are readily at hand. We demand a secure future for girls everywhere. We demand governments keep their promises on climate funding. We demand relief from debts unjustly crushing economies. And we demand action now, while there’s still time to change our collective trajectory.”
First held in 2012, the Global Citizen Festival is the world’s longest-running global campaign calling for an end to extreme poverty.
The event will be broadcast and streamed on ABC, ABC News Live, FX, Hulu, iHeartRadio, TimesLIVE, Twitter and YouTube, among others.
Tickets to the festivals are free and can be earned by downloading the Global Citizen app or visiting www.globalcitizen.org to take action on the campaign’s issues. For each action taken, users earn points that can be redeemed for tickets to the festivals.
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Grande, Bieber, Coldplay for LN Manchester benefit
Ariana Grande will return to Manchester this Sunday (4 June), headlining a star-studded benefit in aid of the families of the victims of last Monday’s bombing.
One Love Manchester, underwritten by Live Nation and produced by Festival Republic in association with SJM Concerts, will take place at the Emirates Old Trafford Cricket Ground (50,000-cap.) and feature performances by Grande, Justin Bieber, Coldplay, Katy Perry, Miley Cyrus, Pharrell Williams, Usher, Take That and 1D’s Niall Horan.
Tickets will go on sale through Ticketmaster at 10am on Thursday 1 June, while those who attended Grande’s tragic show at Manchester Arena on 22 May can register to attend for free.
All net proceeds for the show, which will be broadcast on BBC TV and radio and Capital radio, will be donated to the We Love Manchester Emergency Fund.
“We will not quit or operate in fear. We won’t let this divide us”
In an open letter to fans, Grande (pictured) – who postponed her Dangerous Woman tour in the wake of the Manchester Arena attack – says: “My heart, prayers and condolences are with the victims of the Manchester Attack and their loved ones. There is nothing I or anyone can do to take away the pain you are feeling or to make this better. However, I extend my hand and heart and everything I possibly can give to you and yours, should you want or need my help in any way.
“We will not quit or operate in fear. We won’t let this divide us. We won’t let hate win… Our response to this violence must be to come closer together, to help each other, to love more, to sing louder and to live more kindly and generously than we did before.
“Music is meant to heal us, to bring us together, to make us happy. So that is what it will continue to do for us. We will continue to honour the ones we lost, their loved ones, my fans and all affected by this tragedy. They will be on my mind and in my heart every day, and I will think of them with everything I do for the rest of my life.”
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