World tour by Lady Gaga | |
Location |
|
---|---|
Associated album | Artpop |
Start date | May 4, 2014 |
End date | November 24, 2014 |
Legs | 5 |
No. of shows | 79 |
Box office | $83 million ($106.82 million in 2023 dollars) [1] |
Lady Gaga concert chronology |
ArtRave: The Artpop Ball (stylized as artRAVE: the ARTPOP ball) was the fourth headlining concert tour by American singer Lady Gaga. Supporting her third studio album Artpop (2013), the tour ran from May 4, 2014, to November 24, 2014. The tour dates included cities where Gaga had canceled shows of her previous Born This Way Ball tour after suffering a hip injury. The ArtRave tour was preceded by a seven-day residency at the Roseland Ballroom in Manhattan, New York.
ArtRave's concept and name are derived from the similarly named release party for Artpop. The stage resembled a cave and consisted of two sections connected by catwalks made of translucent lucite, allowing the audience to move underneath the catwalks while still being able to watch the show. Gaga's costumes in the show included one with tentacles, one with bejeweled wings, a rave-inspired outfit and a necklace made of marijuana leaves. Costume designers and choreographers aspired to make a single, coherent show. The lighting fixtures used for the concert were from Clay Paky and the main idea was to create an immersive rave experience with the lights. They were also designed to accommodate minor changes in the show sequences.
The tour was produced by Live Nation, and promoted by Absolut Vodka in the United States and O2 in the United Kingdom. Tickets for several shows sold out immediately once available, prompting additional dates. Negative reports about the tour's commercial performance were dismissed by Live Nation chairman Arthur Fogel. Gaga repeatedly placed within the top-ten of the Billboard Boxscore lists for the 2014 tour grosses. At the end, ArtRave: The Artpop Ball grossed a total of $83 million from 920,088 sold tickets at the 74 reported performances. Billboard also listed it as the ninth best concert tour of the year with 76 reported shows. The tour additionally received positive response from reviewers, but some criticized it for being disjointed. On November 24, 2014, the concert was streamed live from Bercy Arena in France.
While releasing her third studio album Artpop , Gaga held a private event in New York known as ArtRave, where she performed songs from the album and showcased art pieces. Later, she took the concept of ArtRave and created ArtRave: The Artpop Ball tour. After abruptly cancelling the North American leg of her previous Born This Way Ball (2012–13) tour due to a major hip injury, the tour began with its first leg in the United States on May 4, 2014, in Sunrise, Florida. [a] [2] ArtRave: The Artpop Ball had the singer visiting cities where she canceled tour dates in order to undergo the surgery, as well as playing new cities. [3] Gaga explained to The Independent : "When I'm onstage with the Artpop Ball, the point of the show is to take what was the mess of my life and make art of it – to raise the spirit of artistic dreams and creativity and take all the things I was feeling in pain about, and rage... I take a much more meditative approach to the performance. I've got wide-open ears. The ArtRave has routines, and there's a performance-art aspect that has been designed." [4] Prior to the beginning of the tour, Gaga headlined six shows (March 28, 30, 31 and April 2, 4, and 6) at the Roseland Ballroom in Manhattan, New York, and these shows were the final performances at the venue. A seventh show was also added for April 7 and officially closed the venue. [5]
Gaga also held a one-off concert for ArtRave: The Artpop Ball inside a six-storey vending machine at Doritos' annual South by Southwest (SXSW) music festival at Austin, Texas. The city's Music and Entertainment division had initially denied permission to Gaga for playing inside the venue citing that it was for "public safety concerns". Don Pitts from the division said that the venue being in close proximity with a parking lot was the reason they had to cancel Gaga's application. [6] On March 6, 2014, it was announced that Gaga would indeed play at the venue. Tickets were sold to the fans through different competitions and challenges. Randal Lane from Forbes reported that the concert would support Gaga's Born This Way Foundation and charity events, but nevertheless opined that "the way they're doling out the tickets is still crass". [7] [8] [9] The concert was criticized when artist Millie Brown vomited a green liquid over Gaga during the performance of "Swine" from Artpop. The performance received complaints about "glamorizing" eating disorders. [10] In response to the controversy, Brown told MTV News: "I can understand why people would make that association, but my performance is really not a statement about eating disorders themselves." [11] Gaga herself told Today "Millie and I know that not everybody's going to love that performance, but we both really believe in artistic expression and strong identities, and I support her and what she does. Artpop, my new album, is about bringing art and music together in the spirit of creative rebellion, and for us, that performance was art in its purest form." [12]
For the tour, Gaga told Capital FM that she wanted something other than the "Monster Pit" arrangement she previously had in the Born This Way Ball tour, since she was always limited to performing on one portion of the arena. Hence Gaga and her team thought of building two stages, one main stage and an accompanying one on the far end of the arena. It would be enhanced by the addition of a catwalk which would wind all around the arena floor, enabling the singer to interact with the audience. [13] In March 2014, Gaga tweeted a picture of the stage which showed a runway extending from the main platform up to the general admission seats and then bifurcating into two additional runways, ending in small stages within the audience. At the end of the first runway, another platform was constructed which descended into the crowd directly. Gaga noted that the 110 feet (34 m) long runways would be made of lucite rendering them translucent, so that the crowd can dance underneath it while still being able to watch the show. The main stage was described as a white cave, reminiscent of Atlantica from the 1989 Disney film The Little Mermaid , and featured a digital backdrop showing stars and the moon. [14]
The band was placed inside the white dome like structures on the stage, described by John Jurgenson from The Wall Street Journal as like the planet Tatooine in the Star Wars series. At the end of one of the Lucite runways, a piano was hidden beneath enormous stalagmite-like structures reminiscent of Superman's Fortress of Solitude in the comics. [15] [16] There was also a bar overlooking the piano area, where the audience could order drinks while watching the show. [17] Carl Williot from Idolator website compared the stage with that of ArtRave, and felt that it looked like an "insect" with the extended runway and smaller stages. [18] Following the reveal of the image, the hashtag #LadyGagaTourStage started trending globally in Twitter. [19] According to Stacy Lambe from Out magazine, the stage took over 21,000 hours to construct, including the catwalks. There are 15 inflatable trees which are air hosed on the stage to re-create a garden during one of the segments. The whole set up took three hours to dismantle and 21 trucks to carry it from one venue to another. [20] Production manager Jason "JD" Danter explained that the whole set up started from 8:00 am, with lighting and sound checks taking six hours to complete. [21]
For the production of the show, Gaga enlisted choreographer Richard Jackson and together with him and her creative team, the Haus of Gaga, they came up with ideas regarding how the show should be constructed and what music should be performed. They also had to find a way to co-mingle all the different ideas to make a single, coherent show. For the choreography, which encompassed all the stages present, Jackson had to employ a different approach, so that the audience could see the performance from every angle. [22]
Gaga did not preview the costumes for the tour until the opening night. There were seven outfits created for the show, all throughout the different segments. The first was a bejeweled leotard which had the Jeff Koons blue gazing ball attached in the middle; the ball was previously used in the album cover art for Artpop. Gaga accessorized the dress with a pair of feathered wings while wearing a blond bob wig reminiscent of her looks from The Fame era. [23] [24] A rave inspired outfit was worn for the last segment and consisted of colorful dreadlocks and legwarmers made of fur. She added a shirt consisting of straps and plastic sleeves with it. One of the complex outfits was made of latex and consisted of a polka dotted leotard and a number of tentacles attached to the dress as well as a headpiece with two tentacles from it. [23]
The singer also wore a short dress coupled with a platinum bob wig; another version of the dress had a gown attached to it, with Gaga wearing a long wig inspired by Donatella Versace. Before the final performance Gaga wore black latex pants and a top, with a green wig on her head and a necklace made of marijuana leaves. Finally, Gaga also wore a seashell bikini top and voluminous wig; the ensemble had been worn by Gaga in previous live performances for the Artpop era. [23] Her dancers wore neon colored outfits with matching head gears and accessories. Gaga also had a number of unique props, including a Gibson Flying V guitar during "Venus", a plastic chair shaped like a claw and a keytar which was shaped like a sea horse. [16]
BBC News reported that some of the costumes for the tour were designed by Sunderland University fashion graduate Dayne Henderson. He had been chosen by one of Gaga's stylists after seeing his tweet to the singer with a photo of his design which included clothing inspired by fetish fashion. Henderson developed hoods, masks and head pieces for Gaga and her dancers. He had to produce the clothes in latex, and within 12 days had to deliver it to Gaga's management. [25] [26]
Production and lighting designer Roy Bennett used Clay Paky's A.leda B-Eye K20 LED-based moving lights and Clay Paky Sharpys as lighting attachments. Also around 120 B-Eyes by PKG, were obtained for the tour as well with lighting control from three full-sized grandMA2s and 10 NPUs. According to lighting programmer Jason Baeri, "Bennett's approach to the show was to make it an immersive rave that reflected Gaga's non-stop party aesthetic... That means active, alive, vibrant and high energy—it requires us to be just as active on stage as in the crowd. The audience is every bit as much a set piece as they are a room of spectators, so we had to include them as part of Gaga's same party not just watching the spectacle from afar. Cue wise, that's almost like programming two shows at once: Both had to behave as one cohesive element." [27]
Bennett had started designing the lighting from November 2013 and three months later presented it to Gaga. She approved off the audience experience theme that Bennett developed. [28] The B-Eyes, which were previously used in the Roseland shows, were mounted above the 3 by 40 feet (0.91 m × 12 m) video screens in the tour. Sharpy rigging were used throughout, in the front of the stage, rear, side, as well as on the pods over the audience. They were the main lighting accessory for the tour. Baeri explained that they had faced technical challenges, due to high pixel content. The B-Eyes added a total of 4,500 pixel and was varied through all possible configurations. The lighting effects varied along with the tone and the inflections of the song being performed. Clay Paky was distributed by A.C.T Lighting in North America. Solotech were signed as the video contractor, while 8th Day Sound group were the audio contractors throughout the tour. [27]
The show starts off with a video introduction about the tour, followed by dancers appearing on stage with balloons and blue gazing balls. The video continues to play as Gaga emerges from beneath the stage, wearing a golden leotard with wings. She proceeds to sing "Artpop" and then "G.U.Y.", the latter having choreography from its music video. The song transitions to "Donatella" with the screen showing flashing stars and colorful cloud formations. Gaga then performs "Fashion!" on the piano and goes back for a costume change as the band plays the remaining part of the song.
The next section starts with "Venus" as large inflatable flowers rise from below on stage. Gaga appears in the seashell bikini ensemble and playing a guitar. After a welcome speech, "MANiCURE" and "Cake Like Lady Gaga" are performed. Gaga disappears inside for another outfit change as the band plays an outro. She emerges back onto stage in the white outfit and wig as a video shows her twirling on screen. "Just Dance" is sung, with Gaga using a seahorse-shaped keytar and her dancers dressed as "sea people". It is followed by a medley of "Poker Face" and "Telephone". The act ends with Gaga exiting for a costume change and "Partynauseous" is played as an interlude.
The fourth act begins with Gaga wearing the tentacle dress and singing "Paparazzi". She then removes the tentacles and sits on a hand-shaped chair, performing "Do What U Want", followed by Gaga singing "Dope" and "You and I" on piano. Later, Gaga invites a fan onstage and sings a piano version of "Born This Way". She and the fan exit through a trap down as "Jewels n' Drugs" is played as an interlude.
As dancers move props and cannons around the stage, Gaga changes a black latex dress and green wig. She returns to stage and sings a medley of "The Edge of Glory", "Judas", and "Aura", beginning the fifth act. A red couch is brought out on which "Sexxx Dreams" is sung. Following this, white chairs are brought out onto the stage by the dancers for "Mary Jane Holland", during which a choreography is shown with the chairs. "Alejandro" takes place on the lucite runways. At the end of the song, Gaga descends for a quick change. The fifth act triggers when she arises in a Cher-like outfit, singing "Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)". Gaga then performs "Bad Romance" in a rave-inspired costume, followed by "Applause", during which a video backdrop shows the singer in various disguises. Gaga bids the audience goodbye and sings "Swine", during which her dancers fire stuffed animals into the crowd using cannon. During the performance, Gaga removes her wig and dances with shirtless men in pig masks. She leaves the stage for a final costume change, appearing to perform "Gypsy" for the encore. Near the end, she crosses to the main stage and exits with her dancers and band.
The tickets were first available to members of Gaga's social network website, Littlemonsters.com. They were provided with a unique code for ordering tickets from online, but were limited to four tickets per member. According to Live Nation, the first batch of tickets for the tour went on sale from December 9, 2013, and sell-out shows were reported from Toronto, Winnipeg, Calgary, Los Angeles and Edmonton within hours. This led to two new dates being added to the itinerary: June 26 at Milwaukee's Marcus Amphitheater, and June 28 at Atlantic City's Boardwalk Hall. [29] On January 29, 2014, Gaga released the dates for the European leg of the tour, which would begin September 23, 2014, from Belgium. [30] The singer partnered with British mobile network O2, for a deal which would enable the company's customers to avail tickets for the tour three days prior to the general release. The deal included Gaga being featured in a new advertisement, for promoting the UK leg of the tour and showed her wearing a dress with large, glittering shoulder pads while running towards a concert stage. [31] This was the second time Gaga partnered with O2, first in November 2013, for exclusive access to the tracks from Artpop, ahead of its UK release. [30] Upon release, Ticketmaster reported that the UK venues sold out within five minutes, prompting the singer to add another two dates in London. [32] In April and May 2014, she released more floor tickets for sale, after ensuring larger crowd capacity for all the UK venues and a total of eight new dates. [33] [34]
For the US dates, Gaga partnered with Absolut Vodka, who transformed the bar adjacent to the stage into a lounge called "Absolut Artpop Lounge", where some of the lucky fans could watch the show, while ordering cocktails of their choice. Two fans would be chosen on the spot to have seats at the bar; tickets could also be won through a contest at the Absolut website. Gaga explained that with the help of Absolut she could "[create] a special experience where fans can actually sit inside the stage and have their own bar. It's going to be a huge rave in the spirit of art and creativity." Other promotions announced at the website included winning an all-expense-paid trip to see Gaga's show on September 30 at Stockholm, Sweden, and Gaga-inspired runway shows at gay bars across the nation, from where another set of tickets could be won. [17] Four dates were added in Australia, starting from August 20, 2014, at Perth. [35] She had one concert at Dubai's Meydan Racecourse on September 10, but newspaper Gulf News reported that the show would be censored for respecting cultural traditions in the UAE. According to Marco Riois, chairman of AMI Live which organized the show in Dubai, "there will be some edits... It cannot be the full show, because it wouldn't be allowed. So it's a special show for Dubai and for the culture". [36]
Forbes spoke about the commendable ticket pricing ensued by Live Nation for the tour. Jesse Lawrence from the magazine noticed how the ticket prices were lowered to an average of $68 in Gaga's primary markets and ensuing fast sell-outs, compared to those of her contemporaries, like Miley Cyrus' Bangerz Tour which had an average ticket price at $86. Conversely, the average price was raised to as high as $269 in Gaga's secondary markets, although with fewer tickets available than Cyrus' tour. This again ensued that the revenue was earned with profit. Lawrence concluded by saying that "Lady Gaga's pricing, seems to be taking a longer-term view and is focused on providing access to as many of her fans as possible as opposed to wringing out every last dollar on the current tour." [37] In April 2014, Lawrence reported that following Gaga's performance at Roseland Ballroom, the tour ticket prices in the secondary markets went up by 5.3%, with major increases being visible at Philips Arena in Atlanta. Tickets at Madison Square Garden rose up to $338.81, which was 42.6% higher than the average price. Other locations where ticket prices saw an increase were MGM Grand Garden Arena in Paradise, [b] TD Garden in Boston and United Center in Chicago. A higher price was set for the first of two nights at Staples Center in Los Angeles, resulting in one of the costliest tickets in the show. The pricing was leveled off for the second night and they gradually decreased with the tour's progress. [38] This was evident in the tour date switch up between May 12 and 15 at Washington and Philadelphia, respectively, where the ticket prices fell by 29.5%. [39]
Reports arose in the media that the ticket sales for the tour were falling, leading Arthur Fogel, Chairman of Live Nation's Global Touring division, to brand them as "ridiculous". He clarified to Billboard that the about 80% of the tickets were sold in North America and Europe, and they were still in the process of releasing future dates for numerous venues. The 29 shows in North America had grossed around US$26 million, with an average of almost $900,000 per show. Fogel also addressed concerns that Live Nation had lost $30 million from Gaga's tour, saying that if a similar situation really happened, then the company would have cancelled the concerts. "I just don't know how this shit gets any traction without people doing their homework... Just a complete fool would say something like that and it could only come from somebody who has an agenda, because it makes absolutely no sense, on any level", Fogel concluded. [40] A total of 800,000 tickets have been sold for the tour, as reported by Billboard. [41]
In June 2014, Billboard released the first boxscore figures for the tour, up to the June 2 date. Gaga placed at number four on the boxscore list with total gross of $13.9 million, and more than 171,000 tickets sold. The boxscore figure for her Roseland Ballroom performance was also revealed to have grossed $1.5 million with more than 24,000 tickets sold. [42] In October 2014, the second set of boxscore were released, with sales of 509,741 tickets and a gross of $46,933,594, ranking at number two on the boxscore list. [43] Final boxscores were released in December 2014, with the last performance at Paris' Palais Omnisports Bercy grossing $1.2 million and audience of 13,013. In total, ArtRave: The Artpop Ball grossed $83 million from 920,088 sold tickets at the 74 reported performances to Billboard Boxscore. [44] On Pollstar 's Year-end Top 20 Worldwide Tours list, Gaga ranked at number seven with $88.7 million in gross and 947,852 tickets sold for 84 shows, including the seven shows from Roseland Ballroom. [45] Billboard listed it as the ninth best concert tour of the year with 76 reported shows. [46]
John Walker from MTV News reviewed the opening concert in Sunrise, [a] and was impressed with the show. He particularly liked the segment, when after the performance of "Alejandro", Gaga decided to change her costume onstage and did so with the help of her stylists. Walker added that "to prove this, [Gaga] ripped the green, shoulder-length wig right off of her head. Yes, she literally snatched her own wig. Reverse Warholian expedition says what?" [47] Walker further emphasized in another review for MTV that the tour expanded on Gaga's characteristic "fan-to-artist" connections and theatrics she had developed with the Born This Way Ball. [48] Adam Carlson from Billboard praised the show saying that it turned the "spectacle" into a "surprise". He complimented the choreography and the constant costume changes, explaining that "talking about [Gaga's] performances is more fun than listening to them, but don't take that as an insult. There's just a lot to talk about." [49] Chris Richards from The Washington Post said that "for a pop concert in an arena [Verizon Center], it felt good. As a public exercise in reciprocal, unconditional love, it felt unique [from Gaga]." [50]
Glenn Gamboa from Newsday was impressed with the performances, saying "Whether it was the goofiness of 'Venus', the playfulness of 'Donatella' or the throwback soul of 'Do What U Want', which she crowned with an a cappella bit of gospel, she filled the songs with an intensity that was infectious." [51] Lauren Moraski from CBS News felt that Gaga was in "full-force" during the concert and "seemed right at home" with the New York crowd. [52] Frank Scheck from The Hollywood Reporter commended the stage setup, the costumes and the overall entertainment aspect of the tour, saying that "Unlike Madonna, who engages in similar, but decidedly chillier, over-the-top theatrics, Gaga invests her spectacles with an undeniable sweetness and heart." Scheck was positive about the performances of "Gypsy" and "Born This Way". [15]
Negative commentary came from Rob Sheffield of Rolling Stone who reviewed the show at Madison Square Garden and was disappointed, calling it "a run-of-the-mill arena-rock show, the kind where a band has a shoddy new album to flog". He was not impressed that Gaga chose to ignore songs from Born This Way and its successful singles. [53] Dan DeLuca from Philadelphia Daily News wrote that "the show was seriously marred by too many electro powered would-be dance cuts from ARTPOP whose weaknesses were exposed whenever she reached back to her more enticing greatest hits" and that she performed "far too many songs" from Artpop. [54] The Boston Globe writer James Reed felt that "something" was missing from Gaga's performance, and it felt "hollow". He also criticized Gaga's reliance on backing tracks to sing her songs. [55] Joey Guerra from Houston Chronicle found the show to be "disjointed", saying that there was "little in the way of real transition between sequences, particularly in the later moments." [56]
Candice Barnes from The Sydney Morning Herald gave the show positive review, saying that Gaga "delivered a show fit for a queen" at Perth Arena. "Plugged as an 'art rave', it was hard to distinguish where the art finished and the music began", she concluded. [57] Conversely, Ross McCrae from The West Australian panned the show calling it "middle of the road arena rock show", and noticed the public's lack of interest in the performances. [58] The lack of ticket sales was also noted by a reviewer for News.com.au, who went on to add that "one could never accuse Lady Gaga of lacking attention to detail in her live productions or failing to put in a wholehearted and energetic performance." [59] Jenny Valentish from Time Out awarded the show in Melbourne five stars, calling Gaga "a phenomenal singer with an immense voice (...) who could try her hand at any genre", also praising her live band and the costume changes. [60]
The National critic Saeed Saeed described the show as "hugely entertaining" and something that "delivers pop music's ultimate mandate: to dance your worries away". [61] Writing about the subdued concert in Dubai due to religious sentiments, Mohammed Kadry from Khaleej Times noted that Gaga could still put on a "spectacle" and she "was determined to connect with her local audience as she attempted to piece together flattering colloquial phrases". [62] Debra Kamin from The Times of Israel praised Gaga's vocals, adding that "show was everything Gaga promised and everything fans have come to expect from her — loud, florescent, sexually explicit and mind-numbingly bright." [63]
Dave Simpson from The Guardian gave a positive review for the Birmingham concert, awarding the show with 4 out of 5 stars. He stated that "Gaga has often been accused of being all artifice and no heart, but tonight's show is a powerful statement from a star who refuses to be pinned down or written off." [64] Daniel Dylan Wray from The Independent awarded the Birmingham concert with 4 out of 5 stars and described ArtRave as "loud, colourful and frequently emblematic of feel-good, throwaway party times". [65] Katie Fitzpatrick from Manchester Evening News awarded the concert with 5 out of 5 stars. She praised Lady Gaga's voice, her live band, the outfits and the connection of the fans – especially in this show that Gaga helped a fan to propose to his partner on stage. Katie stated that "the ostentatiously named ArtRave may reaffirm that Gaga the show-woman is definitely about her art. But this little lady with the powerful set of lungs is also undoubtedly all heart." [66] Ludovic Hunter-Tilney from the Financial Times rated the concert three out of five stars. He criticized the songs from Artpop except the title track, but complimented the acoustic and piano sequences. [67]
On November 17, 2014, Gaga announced through her social medias that the last concert show, which took place at Bercy Arena in France on November 24, would be streamed live around the world, online on Yahoo! Live. [68] [69] The concert started with a 30-minute video presentation of Gaga's portraits, as shot by Robert Wilson, and which were previously exhibited at the Louvre Museum in Paris. [70] The live stream broke records for Yahoo! Live and Live Nation. [71]
This set list is from the show in Newcastle, England, on November 22, 2014. It is not intended to represent all tour dates. [72]
Date (2014) | City | Country | Venue | Opening act | Attendance | Revenue |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
North America [80] [81] [82] [83] | ||||||
May 4 | Sunrise [a] | United States | BB&T Center | Lady Starlight | 12,977 / 12,977 | $1,173,695 |
May 6 | Atlanta | Philips Arena | Lady Starlight Hatsune Miku | 10,480 / 10,480 | $941,142 | |
May 8 | Pittsburgh | Consol Energy Center | 12,185 / 12,185 | $961,090 | ||
May 10 | Uncasville | Mohegan Sun Arena | 7,722 / 7,722 | $564,692 | ||
May 12 [c] | Washington, D.C. | Verizon Center | 14,866 / 14,866 | $1,014,800 | ||
May 13 | New York | Madison Square Garden | 14,326 / 14,326 | $1,625,812 | ||
May 15 [d] | Philadelphia | Wells Fargo Center | 15,424 / 15,424 | $1,037,606 | ||
May 17 | Detroit | Joe Louis Arena | 11,971 / 11,971 | $954,173 | ||
May 18 | Cleveland | Quicken Loans Arena | 12,792 / 12,792 | $1,000,814 | ||
May 20 | Saint Paul | Xcel Energy Center | 10,084 / 10,084 | $796,395 | ||
May 22 | Winnipeg | Canada | MTS Centre | 12,507 / 12,507 | $974,017 | |
May 25 | Calgary | Scotiabank Saddledome | 12,662 / 12,662 | $982,731 | ||
May 26 | Edmonton | Rexall Place | 13,855 / 13,855 | $1,053,861 | ||
June 2 | San Diego | United States | Viejas Arena | 9,332 / 9,332 | $851,927 | |
June 3 | San Jose | SAP Center | 13,622 / 13,622 | $1,201,315 | ||
June 26 [e] | Milwaukee | Marcus Amphitheater | Lady Starlight Crayon Pop | 18,201 / 23,089 | $1,169,670 | |
June 28 | Atlantic City | Boardwalk Hall | 13,363 / 13,363 | $1,366,626 | ||
June 30 | Boston | TD Garden | 13,848 / 13,848 | $1,190,212 | ||
July 2 | Montreal | Canada | Bell Centre | 12,709 / 12,709 | $965,286 | |
July 4 [f] | Quebec City | Plains of Abraham | — | — | — | |
July 5 [g] | Ottawa | LeBreton Flats | ||||
July 7 | Buffalo | United States | First Niagara Center | Lady Starlight Crayon Pop | 12,076 / 12,076 | $874,785 |
July 9 | Toronto | Canada | Air Canada Centre | 15,813 / 15,813 | $1,355,260 | |
July 11 | Chicago | United States | United Center | 15,112 / 15,112 | $1,314,360 | |
July 14 | San Antonio | AT&T Center | 10,125 / 10,125 | $888,278 | ||
July 16 | Houston | Toyota Center | 11,410 / 11,410 | $967,441 | ||
July 17 | Dallas | American Airlines Center | 11,949 / 11,949 | $1,006,048 | ||
July 19 | Paradise [b] | MGM Grand Garden Arena | 24,948 / 24,948 [h] | $2,379,981 [h] | ||
July 21 | Los Angeles | Staples Center | 26,923 / 26,923 | $2,444,324 | ||
July 22 | ||||||
July 25 [i] | Atlanta | Centennial Olympic Park | — | — | — | |
July 30 | Phoenix | US Airways Center | Lady Starlight Babymetal | 8,187 / 8,187 | $670,198 | |
August 1 | Paradise [b] | MGM Grand Garden Arena | [h] | [h] | ||
August 2 | Stateline | Harveys Outdoor Arena | 7,189 / 7,189 | $997,536 | ||
August 4 | Salt Lake City | EnergySolutions Arena | 9,359 / 9,359 | $516,910 | ||
August 6 | Denver | Pepsi Center | 10,660 / 10,660 | $853,570 | ||
August 8 [j] | Seattle | KeyArena | Lady Starlight | 10,882 / 10,882 | $874,668 | |
August 9 [k] | Vancouver | Canada | Rogers Arena | 13,449 / 13,449 | $962,524 | |
Asia [82] [91] | ||||||
August 13 | Chiba [l] | Japan | QVC Marine Field | Lady Starlight Momoiro Clover Z | 50,453 / 50,453 | $7,874,436 |
August 14 | ||||||
August 16 [m] | Seoul | South Korea | Olympic Stadium | Crayon Pop | 55,000 | — |
Oceania [82] | ||||||
August 20 | Perth | Australia | Perth Arena | Lady Starlight | 8,120 / 8,120 | $744,661 |
August 23 | Melbourne | Rod Laver Arena | 17,253 / 17,253 | $1,732,910 | ||
August 24 | ||||||
August 26 | Brisbane | Brisbane Entertainment Centre | 9,249 / 9,249 | $913,894 | ||
August 30 | Sydney | Allphones Arena | 20,445 / 20,445 | $1,818,090 | ||
August 31 | ||||||
Asia [82] | ||||||
September 10 | Dubai | United Arab Emirates | Meydan Racecourse | Lady Starlight | 8,365 / 8,365 | $1,835,201 |
September 13 | Tel Aviv | Israel | Yarkon Park | 18,984 / 18,984 | $1,786,945 | |
Europe [82] [93] | ||||||
September 16 | Istanbul | Turkey | ITU Stadium | Lady Starlight | 25,157 / 25,157 | $1,123,106 |
September 19 | Athens | Greece | Olympic Stadium | 26,860 / 26,860 | $941,091 | |
September 23 | Antwerp | Belgium | Sportpaleis | 15,188 / 15,188 | $1,394,133 | |
September 24 | Amsterdam | Netherlands | Ziggo Dome | 14,196 / 14,196 | $1,273,725 | |
September 27 | Herning | Denmark | Jyske Bank Boxen | 10,534 / 10,534 | $916,980 | |
September 29 | Oslo | Norway | Telenor Arena | 8,948 / 8,948 | $708,509 | |
September 30 | Stockholm | Sweden | Ericsson Globe | 13,657 / 13,657 | $1,529,285 | |
October 3 | Hamburg | Germany | O2 World Hamburg | 11,430 / 11,430 | $1,094,202 | |
October 5 | Prague | Czech Republic | O2 Arena Prague | 10,734 / 10,734 | $776,719 | |
October 7 | Cologne | Germany | Lanxess Arena | 13,189 / 13,189 | $1,139,559 | |
October 9 | Berlin | O2 World Berlin | 10,555 / 10,555 | $950,331 | ||
October 15 | Birmingham | England | Barclaycard Arena | 12,092 / 12,092 | $1,329,847 | |
October 17 | Dublin | Ireland | 3Arena | 11,497 / 11,497 | $1,117,109 | |
October 19 | Glasgow | Scotland | SSE Hydro | 11,554 / 11,554 | $1,278,571 | |
October 21 | Manchester | England | Phones 4u Arena | 14,719 / 14,719 | $1,625,149 | |
October 23 | London | The O2 Arena | 42,845 / 42,845 | $4,631,817 | ||
October 25 | ||||||
October 26 | ||||||
October 30 | Paris | France | Zénith Paris | 12,301 / 12,301 | $1,071,553 | |
October 31 | ||||||
November 2 | Vienna | Austria | Wiener Stadthalle | 11,586 / 13,598 | $1,055,678 | |
November 4 | Assago | Italy | Mediolanum Forum | 10,852 / 10,852 | $989,889 | |
November 6 | Zürich | Switzerland | Hallenstadion | 13,259 / 13,259 | $1,314,684 | |
November 8 | Barcelona | Spain | Palau Sant Jordi | 17,513 / 17,513 | $1,420,987 | |
November 10 | Lisbon | Portugal | MEO Arena | 7,345 / 7,345 | $365,313 | |
November 13 | Birmingham | England | Barclaycard Arena | 6,129 / 6,129 | $455,781 | |
November 16 | Glasgow | Scotland | SSE Hydro | 10,403 / 10,403 | $681,824 | |
November 20 | Sheffield | England | Motorpoint Arena Sheffield | 11,528 / 11,528 | $672,004 | |
November 22 | Newcastle | Metro Radio Arena | 8,779 / 8,779 | $824,555 | ||
November 24 | Paris | France | Bercy Arena | 13,018 / 13,018 | $1,249,746 | |
Total | 920,088 / 926,988 (99%) | $83,040,746 |
Personnel taken from ArtRave: The Artpop Ball tour book. [94]
Management
Main personnel
ZOZO Marine Stadium is an outdoor baseball stadium in Chiba City, Chiba, Japan. It opened in 1990, with a capacity of about 30,000 spectators. It is primarily used for baseball games, and is the home field of the Chiba Lotte Marines. It is also used for rugby as well as large-scale music concerts. The stadium was built with a multi-purpose circular shape, similar in shape to some (now-defunct) American stadiums, such as Three Rivers Stadium or Busch Memorial Stadium.
The Fame Ball Tour was the debut concert tour by American singer Lady Gaga, in support of her debut studio album The Fame (2008). North American shows began in March, followed by dates in Oceania and a solo trek through Europe. Dates in Asia soon followed, as well as two performances at England's V Festival and two shows in North America that had been postponed from April. Gaga described the tour as a traveling museum show incorporating artist Andy Warhol's pop-performance art concept. Tickets were distributed for charity also. Alternate versions of the show with minimal variations were planned by Gaga to accommodate different venues.
The Monster Ball Tour was the second worldwide concert tour by American singer-songwriter Lady Gaga. Staged in support of her first EP, The Fame Monster (2009), the concert largely comprised songs from that recording as well as Gaga's debut album, The Fame (2008). The tour visited various arenas and stadiums, performing over 200 shows between November 2009 and May 2011. With the tour separated into three respective North American and European legs, as well as visiting Australia, New Zealand and Japan, The Monster Ball is the highest-grossing tour for a debut headlining artist in history.
The Born This Way Ball was the third concert tour by American singer Lady Gaga, in support of her second studio album Born This Way (2011). The tour visited every populated continent, and was ranked as the fifth highest-grossing tour of 2012 by Pollstar. The tour grossed $22.5 million in 2013 according to Pollstar's year-end chart from the 18 dates played, bringing the Born This Way Ball Tour's total gross to $183.9 million from 98 dates. The tour was well received by critics who praised the stage design, Gaga's vocal abilities and different expressive messages.
Artpop is the third studio album by American singer Lady Gaga. It was released on November 6, 2013, by Streamline and Interscope Records. Gaga began planning the project in 2011, shortly after the launch of her second effort, Born This Way. Work continued until 2013 while Gaga was traveling for her Born This Way Ball tour and recovering from surgery for an injury she had sustained while touring. Gaga described Artpop as "a celebration and a poetic musical journey". It displays an intentional "lack of maturity and responsibility" by comparison to the darker and anthemic nature of Born This Way.
"Artpop" is a song by American singer Lady Gaga from her third studio album of the same name. She co-wrote and co-produced the song with Paul "DJ White Shadow" Blair, Nick Monson, and Dino Zisis. "Artpop" was the first song developed for the album and led the composers to pursue other avenues of musical production. Described as the backbone of the record, Gaga did not want to experiment with the production of "Artpop", as she believed it to have an infinite aspect in it.
"Applause" is a song by American singer Lady Gaga from her third studio album, Artpop (2013). It was released as the album's lead single through Interscope Records on August 12, 2013. Written and produced by Gaga, DJ White Shadow, Dino Zisis and Nick Monson, additional songwriters included Martin Bresso, Nicolas Mercier, Julien Arias and William Grigahcine. "Applause" was inspired by the cheering of her fans, which kept her motivated during the months she toured with the Born This Way Ball in pain, before cancelling it due to a hip injury, and pays respect to the art of performance. It is an electropop, dance-pop and Eurodance song built around synthesizers and hi-NRG beats, with lyrics addressing how Gaga is dependent upon her fans' adoration and how she lives to perform.
"Aura" is a song recorded by American singer Lady Gaga for her third studio album, Artpop (2013). She co-wrote and co-produced the track with Zedd and the psychedelic trance duo Infected Mushroom. Initially entitled "Burqa", an Infected Mushroom demo is the song's backbone. "Aura", which explores different facets of the singer, is a mariachi and EDM song with Western guitar and Middle Eastern musical influences and a dance production. Lyrically, it equates the life of a celebrity and stardom with religious oppression and subjugation.
"Sexxx Dreams" is a song by American singer Lady Gaga from her third studio album, Artpop (2013). The song was written by Gaga, Paul "DJ White Shadow" Blair, Martin Bresso, and William Grigahcine, and produced by Blair, Gaga, Nick Monson, and Dino Zisis. Inspired by Gaga's erotic fantasies and dreams, the song went through a number of changes to make it understandable for the singer's team, while keeping a constant chorus. A synth-pop song, Gaga promoted the title by using a number of hashtags involving the name in her social media accounts, and at one point was considered for a single release from Artpop.
"Swine" is a song by American singer Lady Gaga, recorded for her third studio album, Artpop (2013). It was written and produced by Gaga, Paul "DJ White Shadow" Blair, Dino Zisis, and Nick Monson. A dubstep and industrial track, "Swine" was inspired by the singer's sexual experiences and the rage she felt from being raped when she was 19 by an unidentified record producer. Throughout the song, Gaga screams out the lyrics, which talk about denouncing a suitor by comparing them to a pig.
"Gypsy" is a song recorded by American singer Lady Gaga, for her third studio album Artpop (2013). It was written and produced by Gaga with French DJ Madeon, with additional writing credits from RedOne and Paul "DJ White Shadow" Blair. The song was developed with Madeon after Gaga's Born This Way Ball tour performance in France. "Gypsy" was described by Gaga as Artpop's most personal song; she elaborated that it was about travelling the world and the loneliness associated with it. A Europop and electropop song, "Gypsy" is a 1980s style "anthemic" track with piano and guitar instrumentation, and lyrically talks about Gaga's fans as being the people she feels closest to. The track was mistakenly assumed to be the third single from the album when Interscope Records listed it on their SoundCloud page reserved for future releases.
"Venus" is a song recorded and produced by American singer Lady Gaga for her third studio album, Artpop (2013). It was written by Gaga, Paul "DJ White Shadow" Blair, Madeon, Dino Zisis, Nick Monson, and Sun Ra. The recording includes a sample from the French electropop duo Zombie Zombie's cover of Sun Ra's song "Rocket Number 9", from his studio album, Interstellar Low Ways (1966); Sun Ra received a co-writing credit on the track. Originally intended to be the second single from the album, it was released as the first promotional single from Artpop on October 27, 2013, to the iTunes Store, following the positive reception of "Do What U Want", which was planned to be a promotional single only.
"Dope" is a song recorded by American singer Lady Gaga for her third studio album, Artpop (2013). It was released on November 4, 2013, by Interscope Records as the second promotional single from the record, following "Venus". It was written by Gaga, Paul "DJ White Shadow" Blair, Dino Zisis, and Nick Monson and produced by Gaga and Rick Rubin. Following her hip surgery and cancellation of the Born This Way Ball tour, Gaga became addicted to drugs, which helped her get relief from the pain of surgery and also to cope with her sabbatical. "Dope" was written about this addiction and evolved from a song she had previously composed for her fans, about her confessions. It was added to Artpop because Gaga felt the album needed something more autobiographical.
ArtRave was a two-day event hosted by Lady Gaga from November 10–11, 2013, as part of the promotional campaign for her third studio album, Artpop (2013). The event, held in a large warehouse in the Brooklyn Navy Yard in New York, served as an album release party and included a press conference and a live performance. During the press conference, Gaga revealed "the world's first flying dress", called the Volantis, confirmed plans to stage a performance in space in 2015, and introduced new works by Marina Abramović, Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin, Jeff Koons, and Robert Wilson. The warehouse contained a giant statue of Gaga created by Koons on one side and other artworks, while screens all around displayed videos of Gaga's performances with Abramović. There were contortionists, a DJ booth, as well as free food and drink for the assembled crowd.
"G.U.Y." is a song by American singer Lady Gaga from her third studio album, Artpop (2013). She co-wrote and co-produced the song with Zedd. It debuted on French radio as the album's third and final single on March 22, 2014. "G.U.Y." was developed while Gaga was touring with her Born This Way Ball, and was recorded a number of times for the final version. It is an EDM track containing elements of industrial, contemporary R&B, and house music whose lyrics address a number of subjects like sexual dominance, submission, and gender roles.
Lady Gaga Live at Roseland Ballroom was the first concert residency by American singer Lady Gaga. Performed at the Roseland Ballroom in Manhattan, New York, the residency began on March 28 and concluded on April 7, 2014, after completing seven shows. It was the final event hosted by the venue after it was announced that it was being closed down and being replaced with a 42-story skyscraper. Gaga revealed that Roseland was the only venue in New York City that she had never played, although she had visited there previously to watch shows. A poster announcing the event was released, showing an old image of Gaga taken before the time she became successful as a recording artist.
The Cheek to Cheek Tour was a co-headlining tour by American singers Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga in support of their album, Cheek to Cheek (2014). Serving as Bennett's final tour, it began with a two-night run at The Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas, and comprised a total of 36 shows across Europe and North America during the first half of 2015. Many of the tour's shows were part of music festivals, such as the Ravinia Festival, the Copenhagen Jazz Festival, the North Sea Jazz Festival, and the Gent Jazz Festival. The Cheek to Cheek Tour grossed $15.3 million from 27 shows with a total attendance of 176,267.
The Joanne World Tour was the sixth headlining concert tour by American singer Lady Gaga, in support of her fifth studio album, Joanne (2016). It began on August 1, 2017, in Vancouver, Canada and ended on February 1, 2018, in Birmingham, England. After tickets went on sale, various shows in Europe and North America quickly sold out, prompting additional dates in both continents.
Lady Gaga Enigma + Jazz & Piano is a concert residency by American singer-songwriter Lady Gaga held at Dolby Live in the Las Vegas Valley, Nevada. The residency consists of two types of shows: Enigma, which focuses on theatricality and includes the singer's biggest hits, and Jazz & Piano, which involves songs from the Great American Songbook and stripped-down versions of Gaga's songs. The Enigma show was built around a loose storyline about "healing and finding yourself", and saw Gaga wearing various sci-fi inspired outfits. For Jazz & Piano, Gaga aimed for "glamour and elegance", with her wardrobe harkening back to the Jazz Age and vintage Vegas. The Enigma shows opened on December 28, 2018, and the Jazz & Piano shows opened on January 20, 2019. After a 21-month long hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the residency returned to the theater on October 14, 2021.
The Chromatica Ball was the seventh headlining concert tour by American singer Lady Gaga in support of her sixth studio album, Chromatica (2020). Comprising 20 shows, it began on July 17, 2022, in Düsseldorf and concluded on September 17, 2022, in Miami Gardens. Initially conceived as a six-date-long, limited tour, new dates were added after it was delayed by two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic.