Watch Beyonce Cover Prince's "The Beautiful Ones" Live
Beyoncé just completed the final leg of her "Formation Tour" at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey - and according to a report, its her most successful yet.
Billboard Boxscore reports that the tour took in over $256,084,556 and sold 2.2 million tickets. That outdoes the Mrs. Carter World Tour from 2013-2014, which raked in $229.7 million. It's also currently the 9th-highest-selling tour of the decade, standing only behind superstars like U2, AC/DC and Bruce Springsteen.
Beyoncé released the music video for "Formation" to controversy because of its pro-black messaging in February, and performed the song at the Super Bowl the following day. As soon as she stepped off-stage, a commercial announced the tour, which was set to begin in Miami on April 27.
Lemonade, Bey's tour de force visual album revolving around around an empowering story of a woman persevering her husband's infidelity, premiered on HBO on April 23 before hitting Tidal and iTunes shortly after. The tour began four days later, with DJ Khaled as the opening act.
Billboard reports that two sellout shows at London's Wembley Stadium on July 2-3 brought in $15.3 million and sold 142,500 tickets, making the most successful stop on the tour. Two sellout shows at Citi Field in New York City made $11.5 million and sold 73,486, making it the highest-grossing stop in North America.
Beyoncé also gave a sneak peak at the tour with at award shows. She glided through a medley of Lemonade tracks at the VMAs, and rocked an internet-breaking performance of "Freedom" with Kendrick Lamar at the BET Awards.
Tour promoter Arthur Fogel, chairman of Live Nation’s Global Touring division, gave kudos to Beyoncé for her "rabid, committed fan base." The tour received kudos for its production value, but Bey brought it with her vocals and dancing as well.
“When everybody acknowledges the greatness of the production but, more than that, everybody is blown away by her, that’s the ultimately skill,” Fogel told Billboard. “To not only use the platform of a great production, but to rise above it as a performer and artist, that’s her incredibly unique quality.”
The success of the Formation Tour is also substantial because of Bey's new public dedication to social justice. Some critics thought that the messaging behind the music video and Super Bowl performance of "Formation" would hurt the sales of the tour, and she has received both praise and criticism for her part of the movement, but Beyoncé held her ground. She released a statement about police brutality in July after the killings of Philando Castile and Alton Sterling, and raised at least $82,000 for victims of the Flint water crisis by allowing ticket buyers to donate. She is also part-owner of Tidal, which donated $1.5 million to Black Lives Matter and other organizations. All of this, while grinding out the biggest tour of her career, and creating her most ambitious release yet.
Just another day at the office for Queen Bey.
