BTS becomes first pop act to gross $500 million on single tour

BTS’s ongoing “Arirang” world tour surpassed $500 million in revenue, making the band the first pop act and the seventh group of any genre to achieve that feat on a single tour. 

The world tour, which kicked off in Goyang, Gyeonggi, on April 9, is “one of fewer than 20 tours in BoxScore history” to cross that figure, according to Billboard on Wednesday. The six other groups to do so are all rock bands. 

BTS also ranked No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Tours chart, grossing $171.7 million from around 800,000 concertgoers. That is the second-biggest one-month gross in BoxScore history, behind Beyoné’s August 2023 record. 

BTS played back-to-back shows at six North American stadiums that month. The biggest two took place at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, and brought in a combined $32.7 million from 158,000 tickets. 

Other venues included the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas; Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts; M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore; Soldier Field in Chicago; and Rogers Stadium in Toronto. 

Singer The Weeknd, who topped the chart in July, was dethroned by the megaband and landed at No. 2 for August.

After performing at the SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles on Sept. 1, 2 and 5, the seven members took a break from the tour for a few weeks before embarking on the South American leg, comprising 14 concerts across Bogota, Colombia; Lima, Peru; Santiago, Chile; Buenos Aires; and Sao Paulo, Brazil. 

Following the South American leg, the septet will perform in Southeast Asian cities until March next year. 

CHO YONG-JUN [[email protected]]