Tour by Joker Xue | |
![]() Promotional poster example | |
Associated album |
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Start date | October 23, 2021 |
End date | February 15, 2025 |
No. of shows | 145 |
Attendance | 5.08 million |
Joker Xue concert chronology |
The Extraterrestrial World Tour is the third concert tour and second world tour by Chinese singer-songwriter Joker Xue. The Extraterrestrial World Tour spans a record-breaking 145 shows across four continents with 133 in Asia, 2 in Europe, 5 in North America, and 4 in Oceania. Tour attendance is approximately 5.08 million, making it among the most-attended concert tours of all-time. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]
On July 13, 2021, Xue announced the tour by posting the Extraterrestrial World Tour poster on Weibo. [6] On July 24, at the Chaole Music Festival, Xue shared the tour is both a concert and a story with a lot of "silly plotlines" that should be "extremely fun." [7] Extraterrestrial World Tour opened in October 2021 with two shows in Suzhou followed by two shows in Guangzhou the next month. In 2022, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many of the announced dates were postponed [8] and only the Haikou concert was successfully held on December 24, 2022. [9] In March 2023, the tour resumed and for the rest of the tour, Xue mostly maintained the pace of one stop per week and frequently with several shows per stop.
Xue strives to lessen the burden of travelling to concerts for his fans, promising to meet them "in their hometowns" because his principle is "if I take one more step, you will take one fewer step". [10] [11] In 2023, Extraterrestrial World Tour was listed as one of the tours with the most number of stops. [12] Xue performed in 30 of China's 34 provinces with a finale of 18 shows, 6 shows each at 3 stops in different regions of China: northern (Beijing), southern (Shenzhen), and central (Suzhou). [13]
On October 15, Xue announced on his Weibo that he is extending the tour with additional "Overseas Returned" stadium shows, with the same stage design and setlist as his shows in China, so his overseas fans can have the complete experience. [14] He is the first mainland China artist to hold an international stadium tour. [15]
The Extraterrestrial World Tour is both a concert and a story. In it, Xue transforms into an interstellar executive, codename 0717, who was ordered to destroy Earth. However, through interactions with the fans during the concert, 0717 is moved by the goodness of humans and chooses to sacrifice himself to save them. [7]
Each concert consists of five acts, with pre-recorded videos filmed in a comedic manner to advance the plot as well as talking segments where Xue humorously interacts with different audience members, making them active participants in the story. [16]
International shows from November 2023 to March 2024 were held in arenas. Due to time and stage constraints, these 19 shows had the setlist and talking segments reduced and did not have special guests. The 5 additional international shows from November 2024 to February 2025 were held at stadiums and performed with full stage design and setlist, though no special guests were present. [18]
The Extraterrestrial World Tour features a 130-meter stage and incorporates the use of a large spaceship above the stage is essential for the interstellar space theme. [19] Before each concert, the production team uses 40 18-meter vans to load and transport parts then works continuously for 8 days using multiple cranes to lift the 30-ton spaceship to a height of 30 meters. Due to the time required for assembly and the weekly tour schedule, two sets of spaceship are used, alternating between tour stops. [20] In addition, there are several other pieces that are central to storytelling, such as the 9-meter-high "Tower of Desire" in the first act, the "Carousel" in the third act that transport 0717 back in time, and the "Highwire Walking" (with harness) in the fourth act that symbolizes changes in 0717's emotional state before exiting in a space pod. [21] [22] [23]
The stage is equipped with more than 2,000 lights, 28 sets of LED screens totaling 2,200 square meters, 21 sets of lifting platforms, and 250 computer numerical control motors. [24] By integrating multi-tired lighting within the structure of the spaceship and flanking the movable LED screens with vertical lighting, it creates a dynamic setting for 0717's story. [16] The lighting design has been recognized by LIT Lighting Design Awards, MUSE Design Awards and Novum Design Awards. [25] [26] [27] The light sticks used by the audience are made of degradable and recyclable materials, in keeping with the theme of the story. [21] [16]
Outdoor stadiums venues, consisting of a large area that's split into floor and balcony sections, pose the challenge of how to provide high-quality experience for everyone. [28] To overcome this, the "Extraterrestrial World Tour" sound design team installs a variety of L-Acoustics speakers around the stadium, including but not limited to K1, K2, Kara, K1-SB, and KS28. [29] Since the Suzhou shows in 2021, the Extraterrestrial World Tour has utilized delay towers to reinforce the main sound system and ensure all audience members have the same sound quality in one of the earliest large-scale use of delay towers in China. [28] The stage return system is made up of 22 L-Acoustics' 115XT HiQs, 4 ARCS IIs, and 4 KS28s while the PA console uses DiGiCo's Quantum 7. [29]
The design for the Extraterrestrial Tour received praise for its immersive worldbuilding, offering the audience "visual and aural feast" and creating an enjoyable sci-fi music journey." [30] [31] [32] The light design, in particular, has been recognized with three international awards. [25] [26] [27]
Xue's tongue-in-cheek style was cited for the concert's success as the narrative was treated humorously with his distinctive deadpan and ironic style. [33] The jokes and one-liners may, at first, "come across as distracting and jarring against the emotional register of his songs" but "for a performer as playful and wisecracking as Xue, one would expect chaos and off-the-wall eccentricity." [34]
Xue’s performances were described as "spectacular, grand and true to the storyline." [35] Xue's "voice rang with a pleading intensity perfect for the grand anthems he is known for", was "glam rock god [...] complete with some spirited head-banging" for certain tracks, and pulled off "robotic dance moves with his eight back-up dancers on high-octane songs." [34]
Audience interaction was a highlight of Xue's concerts. At each stop, he incorporated local culture into his performance, via speaking to the audience in local dialect and updating the lyrics in "What Do You Want From Me." [36] [37] The popular "refund" running joke, where the audience cheerfully shouts for a "refund" anytime Xue says a wrong word or sings the wrong lyrics, had been made into compilations and shared widely online. [38]
Throughout the concert, messaging about treating each other with kindness and improving our world one small act at a time was well-received and recognized for its positive energy. [21] [31]
In December 2024, China Music Group released the 2024 Music Industry Report; in it, the Extraterrestrial World Tour was named among Top 10 Performances of the Year. [39]
Year | Ceremony | Category | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
2022 | Weibo Music Awards 微博音乐盛典 | Most Recommended Concert Tour 年度推荐演唱会 | Won | [23] |
2023 | Chinese Music Awards 华语金曲奖 | Best Performance Management of the Year 年度最佳演出管理 | Nominated | [40] |
LIT Lighting Design Awards | Concert Lighting Installation / Music Event Lighting | Won | [25] | |
MUSE Design Awards | Lighting Design: Entertainment Lighting (Platinum) | Won | [26] | |
Novum Design Awards | Lighting Design (Gold) | Won | [27] | |
Weibo Music Awards 微博音乐盛典 | Most Recommended Concert Tour 年度推荐演唱会 | Won | [23] | |
2024 | Tencent Music Entertainment Awards 腾讯音乐娱乐盛典 | Best Concert Tour of the Year 年度演唱会 | Won | [41] [42] |
In 2021, Xue was first in comprehensive ranking of concert box office and number of shows of all 2021 tours in China. [43] In 2023, Xue ranked first in artist with highest number of concerts and second in artist with most number of stops among all 2023 tours in China. [12]
In June 2023, Hainan Airlines collaborated Chaoshi Music to create exclusive flights for the Extraterrestrial World Tour on a customized plane featuring the concert poster painted on the exterior and details such as lyrics from Xue's songs on the interior for an immersive experience. [44] In July, the Extraterrestrial flights were named one of the "Top 50 Brand Marketing Cases" at the Top 100 Brands Awards Ceremony, hosted by Sina Finance and organized by China Brand Innovation Lab and Midu. [45]
Many of the Chinese cities he toured in were categorized by Chinese city tier system as Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities, where he is often the first artist to hold a concert and in doing so, provide a significant boost to the local economy as fans travel from all over the country to attend. [44] [46] Multiple cities reported the majority of attendees were non-local; with Chuzhou at 94%, [12] Hengyang at 86%, [47] and Wenzhou at 70%. [48] In 2023, Xue's concerts in Quzhou, a third-tiered city, generated 124 million of cumulative tourism revenue, resulting in Quzhou ranking first in cities with the fastest box office growth in 2023. [44] [49]
As tickets for each stop sold out quickly, Xue often added an extra show or two to ensure fans could come see him without resorting to expensive resale tickets. [50] [51] Even then, demand for Xue's shows was so high that tens of thousands of fans who were unable to get tickets gathered outside of the stadiums and sang along with the music. [44] [52] [53] [54]
Xue's international stops were also successful. Both London and Paris shows were sold out. [55] Kuala Lumpur and Singapore stops each had three consecutive shows due to overwhelming demand as originally only one show was announced then a second show was added when the first sold out quickly then a third show was added when the second also sold out quickly. [56] [57] On December 2, after the "Overseas Returned" Singapore National Stadium show sold out, a second show was added. [58]
The total gross for the New York and Las Vegas shows was $5.8 million with the total attendance of 21,100, placing Xue at 23 on Billboard's February 2024 Top Tours list. [59] Extraterrestrial Tour ranks number 85 on Pollstar's 2024 Mid-Year Top 100 Worldwide Tours with $10.3 million from five shows and number 83 on 2024 Mid-Year Top 100 North American Tours with $7.5 million from three shows; Xue is the only Chinese artist to appear on both charts. [60] Qudos Bank Arena listed Xue among artists that attract "high-value audiences" and reported 72% increase in Net Promoter Scores, second highest in 2023, and 140% increase to other comparative acts, for Xue's show. [61]
Year | Period | Venue | Region | Description | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2023 | March 18 and 19 | Quzhou Stadium | China | First artist to perform at the venue and to perform two consecutive shows at the venue. | [62] |
April 1 | Guangxi Sports Center Stadium | First mainland China artist to perform at the venue. | [44] | ||
April 21 and 22 | Nanchang International Sport Center Stadium | First artist to perform two consecutive shows at the venue. | [63] | ||
April 28 and 29 | Nanjing Olympic Sports Centre Stadium | ||||
May 13 and 14 | Jinan Olympic Sports Center Stadium | ||||
May 20 and 21 | Zhengzhou Olympic Sports Center Stadium | ||||
May 27 | Lianyungang Sports Center Stadium | First mainland China artist to perform at the venue. | [44] | ||
July 7 and 8 | Qingdao Citizen Fitness Center Stadium | First artist to perform one and two shows at the venue. | [64] | ||
Concert with the largest attendance (40,000 per show) | |||||
Concert with the fastest ticket sale record | |||||
July 14–16 | Hengyang Stadium | First artist to perform three consecutive shows at the venue. | [47] | ||
August 5 and 6 | Yichang Olympic Sports Center Stadium | First artist to perform two consecutive shows at the venue. | [44] | ||
August 26 and 27 | Zunyi Olympic Sports Center Stadium | First mainland China artist to perform at the venue. | |||
September 9 | Dong'an Lake Sports Park Stadium | First artist to perform at the venue. | [67] | ||
September 29 and 30 | Chuzhou Olympic Sports Center Stadium | Highest percentage (94%) of non-local attendance for all 2023 concerts in China. | [12] | ||
November 11 and 12 | Wenzhou Olympic Sports Center Stadium | First artist to perform at the venue and to perform two consecutive shows at the venue. | [48] | ||
December 16 and 17 | Sanming Sports Stadium | ||||
2024 | April 20 and 21 | Luoyang Olympic Center Stadium | Fifth Chinese artist and first mainland China artist to perform more than 100 shows in a single tour. | [69] | |
May 10–12 | Xiamen Egret Stadium | First artist to perform at the venue and first artist to perform three consecutive shows at the venue. | [30] | ||
June 29 and 30 | Shantou Sports Centre Stadium | First Chinese artist to have 100 stadium shows in a single tour | [71] | ||
November 23 | Bukit Jalil National Stadium | Malaysia | First mainland China artist to perform at the venue. | [15] | |
December 1 | ENGIE Stadium | Australia | |||
December 21 | Thunderdome Stadium | Thailand | |||
2025 | February 14 and 15 | Singapore National Stadium | Singapore |
The setlist began with songs from Extraterrestrial and eventually expanded to include the majority of the songs from The Guardian .
Xue updated the setlist with new releases throughout the tour, the setlist below notes changes to the setlist. [72]
Essay Wang and Liu Xijun do not appear at special guests at international arena shows. The setlist and talking segments are also reduced due to venue and time constraints. [18]
The international stadium shows feature the full setlist from mainland China shows with two new songs added to the setlist: Nothing and Rent Purchase. [18]
Xue familiarizes himself with local dialect, customs, and/or landmarks at each stop and incorporates them into certain songs that have become highlights that attendees look forward to. [34]
For the 99th and 100th concert in Luoyang of the Extraterrestrial World Tour, Xue invited Peking Opera performer Zhang Zixi for a limited special performance of "City of Luo" (洛城). [74] [75] Xue said at the concert that only this city has this song.
Xue has two regular special guests on this tour: Essay Wang and Liu Xijun. The setlist changes based on who is present; Xue performs "Youth of Galaxy" (银河少年) with Wang and "Express Our Feelings" (聊表心意) with Liu.
At Hongkou Football Stadium, Xue invited JunJun as his special guest for the June 21, 2023 show. [76]
For shows at the Beijing National Stadium, Xue invited the following special guests:
Date | City | Country | Venue |
---|---|---|---|
October 23, 2021 | Suzhou [32] | China | Suzhou Sports Center |
October 24, 2021 | |||
November 27, 2021 | Guangzhou | Guangzhou University Town Stadium | |
November 28, 2021 | |||
December 24, 2022 | Haikou [86] | Wuyuan River Stadium | |
March 18, 2023 | Quzhou [62] | Quzhou Stadium | |
March 19, 2023 | |||
April 1, 2023 | Nanning | Guangxi Sports Center Stadium | |
April 14, 2023 | Foshan | Century Lotus Stadium | |
April 15, 2023 | |||
April 21, 2023 | Nanchang | Nanchang International Sport Center Stadium | |
April 22, 2023 | |||
April 28, 2023 | Nanjing | Nanjing Olympic Sports Centre Stadium | |
April 29, 2023 | |||
May 13, 2023 | Jinan | Jinan Olympic Sports Center Stadium | |
May 14, 2023 | |||
May 20, 2023 | Zhengzhou | Zhengzhou Olympic Sports Center Stadium | |
May 21, 2023 | |||
May 27, 2023 | Lianyungang [38] | Lianyungang Sports Center Stadium | |
June 3, 2023 | Wuhan | Wuhan Sports Center | |
June 4, 2023 | |||
June 10, 2023 | Harbin | HICEC Stadium | |
June 21, 2023 | Shanghai [87] | Hongkou Football Stadium | |
June 22, 2023 | |||
June 23, 2023 | |||
July 1, 2023 | Xi'an | Xi'an Olympic Sports Center | |
July 2, 2023 | |||
July 8, 2023 | Qingdao [88] | Qingdao Citizen Fitness Center Stadium | |
July 9, 2023 | |||
July 14, 2023 | Hengyang [66] [47] | Hengyang Stadium | |
July 15, 2023 | |||
July 16, 2023 | |||
July 21, 2023 | Hefei | Hefei Olympic Sports Center Stadium | |
July 22, 2023 | |||
July 23, 2023 | |||
July 28, 2023 | Shenzhen | Shenzhen Universiade Sports Centre | |
July 29, 2023 | |||
August 5, 2023 | Yichang | Yichang Olympic Sports Center Stadium | |
August 6, 2023 | |||
August 11, 2023 | Beijing | Beijing National Stadium | |
August 12, 2023 | |||
August 13, 2023 | |||
August 18, 2023 | Lanzhou [89] | Lanzhou Olympic Sports Center Stadium | |
August 19, 2023 | |||
August 26, 2023 | Zunyi [90] | Zunyi Olympic Sports Center Stadium | |
August 27, 2023 | |||
September 2, 2023 | Shenyang | Shenyang Olympic Sports Center Stadium | |
September 3, 2023 | |||
September 9, 2023 | Chengdu | Dong'an Lake Sports Park Stadium | |
September 16, 2023 | Fuzhou | Haixia Olympic Center | |
September 17, 2023 | |||
September 22, 2023 | Guangzhou | Tianhe Stadium | |
September 23, 2023 | |||
September 24, 2023 | |||
September 29, 2023 | Chuzhou | Chuzhou Olympic Sports Center Stadium | |
September 30, 2023 | |||
October 5, 2023 | Shijiazhuang | Hebei Olympic Sports Center | |
October 6, 2023 | |||
October 14, 2023 | Tianjin | Tianjin Olympic Center | |
October 15, 2023 | |||
October 20, 2023 | Changzhou | Changzhou Olympic Sports Centre | |
October 21, 2023 | |||
October 27, 2023 | Qingyuan | Qingyuan Sports Center Stadium | |
October 28, 2023 | |||
November 3, 2023 | Chengdu | Dong'an Lake Sports Park Stadium | |
November 4, 2023 | |||
November 11, 2023 | Wenzhou [48] | Wenzhou Olympic Sports Center Stadium | |
November 12, 2023 | |||
November 19, 2023 | London | England | OVO Wembley Arena |
November 22, 2023 | Paris | France | Zénith Paris |
December 2, 2023 | Hong Kong | China | AsiaWorld–Arena |
December 3, 2023 | |||
December 8, 2023 | Macau | Galaxy Arena | |
December 9, 2023 | |||
December 10, 2023 | |||
December 16, 2023 | Sanming [68] | Sanming Sports Stadium | |
December 17, 2023 | |||
December 23, 2023 | Kuala Lumpur | Malaysia | Axiata Arena |
December 24, 2023 | |||
December 25, 2023 | |||
January 5, 2024 | Singapore [57] | Singapore Indoor Stadium | |
January 6, 2024 | |||
January 7, 2024 | |||
January 13, 2024 | Qujing | China | Qujing Culture Sports Park |
January 14, 2024 | |||
January 27, 2024 | Haikou | Wuyuan River Stadium | |
February 17, 2024 | New York City [59] | United States | Barclays Center |
February 24, 2024 | Las Vegas [59] | MGM Grand Garden Arena | |
March 4, 2024 | San Jose | SAP Center | |
March 7, 2024 | Vancouver | Canada | Rogers Arena |
March 13, 2024 | Toronto | Coca-Cola Coliseum | |
March 23, 2024 | Sydney | Australia | Sydney SuperDome |
March 26, 2024 | Melbourne | Rod Laver Arena | |
March 30, 2024 | Auckland | New Zealand | Spark Arena |
April 6, 2024 | Hangzhou [91] | China | Hangzhou Olympic Sports Expo Center |
April 7, 2024 | |||
April 13, 2024 | Chongqing | Chongqing Olympic Sports Center | |
April 14, 2024 | |||
April 20, 2024 | Luoyang [92] | Luoyang Olympic Center Stadium | |
April 21, 2024 | |||
April 26, 2024 | Zhenjiang [93] | Zhenjiang Sports and Exhibition Center | |
April 27, 2024 | |||
May 4, 2024 | Taiyuan [94] | Shanxi Sports Centre Stadium | |
May 5, 2024 | |||
May 10, 2024 | Xiamen [95] | Xiamen Egret Stadium | |
May 11, 2024 | |||
May 12, 2024 | |||
May 18, 2024 | Ürümqi [96] | Urumqi Olympic Sports Center Stadium | |
May 19, 2024 | |||
May 25, 2024 | Dalian [97] | Dalian Sports Centre Stadium | |
May 26, 2024 | |||
June 1, 2024 | Xining [98] | Qinghai Sports Center Stadium | |
June 14, 2024 | Changsha | Helong Sports Center Stadium | |
June 15, 2024 | |||
June 16, 2024 | |||
June 21, 2024 | Xuzhou [99] | Xuzhou Olympic Sports Centre Stadium | |
June 22, 2024 | |||
June 23, 2024 | |||
June 29, 2024 | Shantou [100] | Shantou Sports Centre Stadium | |
June 30, 2024 | |||
July 5, 2024 | Hohhot [2] | Hohhot City Stadium | |
July 6, 2024 | |||
July 12, 2024 | Beijing [3] | Beijing National Stadium | |
July 13, 2024 | |||
July 14, 2024 | |||
July 17, 2024 | |||
July 19, 2024 | |||
July 20, 2024 | |||
July 25, 2024 | Shenzhen | Shenzhen Universiade Sports Centre | |
July 26, 2024 | |||
July 28, 2024 | |||
August 2, 2024 | |||
August 3, 2024 | |||
August 4, 2024 | |||
August 9, 2024 | Suzhou | Suzhou Olympic Sports Centre | |
August 10, 2024 | |||
August 11, 2024 | |||
August 15, 2024 | |||
August 16, 2024 | |||
August 18, 2024 | |||
November 23, 2024 | Kuala Lumpur [4] | Malaysia | Bukit Jalil National Stadium |
December 1, 2024 | Sydney [15] | Australia | ENGIE Stadium |
December 21, 2024 | Bangkok [101] | Thailand | Thunderdome Stadium |
February 14, 2025 | Singapore [5] | Singapore National Stadium | |
February 15, 2025 |
Date | City | Country | Venue | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
September 10, 2023 | Chengdu [102] | China | Dong'an Lake Sports Park Stadium | Cancelled due to illness, rescheduled for November 4, 2023 |
December 29, 2023 | Bangkok [103] | Thailand | Impact Arena | Cancelled due to safety concerns, returned in 2024 at Thunderdome Stadium |
Information below is based on concerts held in mainland China and may vary per stop based on scheduling and availability. [21] [30] [104]