Daddy Yankee’s “La Ultima Vuelta World Tour” Becomes Biggest-Ever Tour of His Career

Posted on December 28, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Daddy Yankee has ended his touring career with a bang…

The 45-year-old Puerto Rican reggaeton superstar has played the final shows of his farewell tour, ending at Miami’s FTX Arena on Thursday, December 22.

According to figures reported to Billboard Boxscore, La Ultima Vuelta World Tour wrapped with $197.8 million and 1.9 million tickets sold over 83 shows in 2022. That makes it the biggest tour of his career, by a long shot.

The tour kicked off at Denver’s Ball Arena on July 25, and played 33 shows until finishing its first leg at Madison Square Garden. The U.S. and Canada run earned $61.6 million and sold 376,000 tickets before venturing to Latin America.

There, Daddy Yankee hit 22 Spanish-speaking markets and earned $112.7 million and sold 1.383 million tickets.

He then closed the tour with 12 additional American shows, adding $23.4 million and 143,000 tickets to the final count.

With something of a home-field (or language) advantage, Latin American shows averaged $3 million and 36,000 tickets in mostly stadiums, compared to $1.9 million and 12,000 tickets in mostly domestic arenas.

Daddy Yankee’s geographical divide is in contrast with that of the year’s other major Latin tour from Bad Bunny. With more significant crossover success in recent years, Bad Bunny paced a similar 40,000-plus attendance in both territories but earned nearly three times more per show in the U.S. and Canada because of more elastic ticket scaling.

Bad Bunny and Daddy Yankee played a major role in lifting promoter Cardenas Marketing Network to No. 3 on the year-end Top Promoters ranking. After the final show in Miami, Henry Cardenas reflected to Billboard via email on the impact of Daddy Yankee’s final tour and touring career that started on day one.

“It was an unforgettable tour for me and for the entire CMN team. Having produced the farewell tour of the icon and influencer of an entire generation is one of the greatest accomplishments that our company has achieved. In 2005 we were the producers of his first tour, Barrio Fino, and today we say goodbye to him in La Ultima Vuelta. I thank Raymond and Mireddys for giving us the opportunity to be part of this dream that is now a reality and for allowing us to be direct witnesses of their great legacy.”

The La Ultima Vuelta World Tour was 2022’s second-biggest tour in Latin America, besting Bad Bunny’s $80 million-plus total, but falling short of Coldplay’s $127.9 million from two separate legs of Music of the Spheres Tour.

Still, Daddy Yankee’s nearly $2 million average in the states on a robust 45-date routing made for a gargantuan global total. Excluding Latin American dates, La Ultima Vuelta World Tour represents a leap of more than 100% from his previous nightly best. All shows considered, he’s up by 162%.

Regardless of geography or genre, Daddy Yankee finished at No. 13 on the year-end Top Tours chart, ranking artists on their concert business between November 1, 2021-October 31, 2022.

On Billboard’s monthly Top Tours chart, he’s climbed from No. 22 in July to No. 9 to No. 5 and, for October and November, to No. 3 (December’s ranking will publish next month).

Further, in the calendar year of 2022, Daddy Yankee has the sixth-highest grossing tour worldwide, behind Bad Bunny, Elton John, Coldplay, Ed Sheeran and Harry Styles.

And even beyond his year-end achievements, La Ultima Vuelta World Tour finishes as the second-highest grossing Latin tour in Boxscore history, sandwiched between Bad Bunny’s World’s Hottest Tour ($314.1 million) and El Ultimo Tour Del Mundo ($116.8 million).

Bad Bunny Teases New Single He’ll Release “to Close the Year”

Posted on December 21, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Bad Bunny is ending the year with a banger…

Just five days before Christmas, the 28-year-old Puerto Rican superstar has unveiled a preview clip of a never-before-heard track on TikTok.

“OK, now yes, check this out,” he said in the 50-second clip. “Let me play this for you. This is to close the year.”

Bunny’s sultry vocals are heard over a simple beat that soon transitions into a hard-hitting reggaeton track.

“He loves you and gives you everything/ But you’re the devil and you’re crazy for me/ You like the bad boys and are playing fire with me […] although you’re a sin, I’m going to hell following that big a–/ I’m on my way/ Today I’m picking you up after midnight,” he chants in the saucy snippet.

He teased fans some more in the caption. “Let me know if you want another preview,” he wrote, which has fans speculating in the comments that this could either mark the return of “Trap Bunny,” or that he might drop a whole new album before 2022 comes to an end.

As fans patiently wait for El Conejo Malo’s next big move, there’s no denying that Bad Bunny was the year’s biggest music star.

Bad Bunny ruled Billboard’s year-end Top Artists chart for the first time, while his Un Verano Sin Ti made history as the first all-Spanish album to hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200 year-end albums chart (and has spent 13 weeks at the top so far), and the album also became the first-ever all-Spanish release to earn a Grammy nomination for album of the year.

He also closed out the year with his record-breaking $435 million in tour grosses that combine more than 80 concerts from two separate tours (El Último Tour del Mundo and The World’s Hottest Tour). That amount became the highest gross for an artist in a calendar year since Billboard Boxscore launched in the late 1980s.

@badbunny

me dicen si quieren otro preview…

♬ original sound – Bad Bunny

The unreleased track he teased on TikTok will follow his Arcangel-assisted “La Jumpa,” which debuted at No. 3 on the Hot Latin Songs chart dated December 10, 2022.

Bad Bunny Breaks Billboard Boxscore Record for Highest Gross for Artist in Calendar Year

Posted on December 13, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Bad Bunny is closing out the year with a bang…

The 28-year-old Puerto Rican superstar closed out his World’s Hottest Tour over the weekend in Mexico City, closing out a historic year on the Billboard Boxscore charts.

Ultimately, his 81 concerts in 2022 – culled from two separate tours – combine for the highest gross for an artist in a calendar year ever, since Billboard Boxscore launched in the late 1980s.

Some may have thought there were no Boxscore records left to break for Bad Bunny.

His arena tour in the spring, titled El Ultimo Tour Del Mundo, grossed $116.8 million, according to figures reported to Billboard Boxscore.

This made it the highest grossing Latin tour of all time. On a city-by-city basis, he broke local revenue records in 13 North American markets.

He then launched World’s Hottest Tour, a stadium run that made him the first artist to ever mount separate $100-million-tours in the same year. That trek broke local records in 12 of its 15 domestic markets, ultimately earning $232.5 million in the U.S.

Its 11 shows in September grossed $123.7 million, breaking the record for the highest one-month gross since Billboard launched its monthly rankings in 2019.

Bad Bunny topped the year-end Top Tours chart with a $373.5 million take, though he was still in the middle of a Latin American leg when the year-end tracking period ended. (Year-End Boxscore charts are based on shows that played between Nov. 1, 2021 – Oct. 31, 2022.)

In doing so, he became the first Latin artist, and first artist to primarily perform in any language other than English, to crown the annual ranking.

Finally, Bad Bunny closed out World’s Hottest Tour with two shows at Mexico City’s Estadio Azteca on December 9-10, adding $10.3 million and 116,000 tickets to its total. The Latin American run spanned 21 shows in 15 cities, earning $81.7 million from 910,000 tickets sold. Mexico was the highlight – not only for its two CDMX concerts, but for the $17.1 million out of Monterrey’s Estadio BBVA.

Altogether, the tour grossed $314.1 million and sold 1.9 million tickets, re-setting the record for the biggest Latin tour ever.

Added to his arena tour, plus three hometown shows in San Juan in July that were not a proper part of either of his two tours, Bad Bunny grossed $434.9 million in 2022, narrowly eclipsing Ed Sheeran’s $434.4 million in 2018, for the highest calendar-year gross in Billboard Boxscore history.

Bad Bunny’s gigantic year on the road is just one piece of his 2022 puzzle. He was also named Billboard’s Top Artist of the year, bolstered by the success of Un Verano Sin Ti. Released in May, his seasonal smash spent 13 weeks atop the Billboard 200 and landed seven of its tracks on the year-end Billboard Hot 100 ranking.

That album, plus his two 2020 releases, brought Bad Bunny from arena-contender to stadium-conqueror. His previous touring cycle, 2019’s X100 PRE Tour, earned $45.8 million between two legs, averaging $1.1 million per night. World’s Hottest Tour went stratospheric, pacing $3.7 million per show in Latin America and $11.1 million in the U.S.

Dating back to a Rosemont Theater show in October 2017 — his first show reported to Billboard Boxscore as a headliner — Bad Bunny has grossed $508.7 million and sold 3.3 million tickets. That’s one more broken record — enough to make him the highest grossing Latin artist in Boxscore history.

Karol G Releases New Single “Cairo”

Posted on November 14, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Karol G is ready to rock like an Egyptian…

The 31-year-old Colombian superstar has released her new track “Cairo,” an infectious track produced by her go-to producer Ovy On the Drums.

Penned by the team behind “Provenza” — Karol, Ovy and Keityn — “Cairo” is a head-bobbing earworm that thrives on a fusion of dance beats and Afrobeat. In the song, Karol sings about allowing herself to love again, even after swearing she wouldn’t.

“I’m not in love yet, but soon I will be,” she confesses.

“Cairo” follows Karol G’s “Gatubela,” which dropped in August. With the track, in collaboration with Maldy, the Colombian artist banked her 16th top 10 on Billboard’s Hot Latin Songs with a No. 4 debut on the September 10-dated ranking.

Billboard recently revealed that Karol G‘s $Trip Love tour had grossed $69.9 million and sold 410,000 tickets across 33 shows in North America (through the end of October), according to numbers reported to Billboard Boxscore. With those figures, she has now earned the highest U.S.-grossing tour by a female Latin act.

With $Trip Love, the “Provenza” singer surpasses Jennifer Lopez‘s $50 million grossing It’s My Party World Tour in 2019. Meanwhile, Shakira grossed $28.2 million in 2018 with her El Dorado World Tour. This year, Rosalía’s Motomami world tour has grossed $28.1 million through the end of October.

Karol G is currently working on her forthcoming album, which will follow her chart-topping, Grammy-nominated 2021 set, KG0516. She’s also slated to headline the 16th annual Calibash, taking place Jan. 21-22 at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. She joins a previously billed group of headliners that includes Ozuna, Myke Towers and Farruko.

The song dropped alongside a music video, shot in Cairo, directed by WEOWNTHECITY.

Karol G’s “$Trip Love” Becomes Highest U.S.-Grossing Tour by a Female Latin Act

Posted on November 9, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Karol G is makin’ history…

The 31-year-old Colombian singer and songwriter’s $Trip Love tour has grossed $69.9 million and sold 410,000 tickets across 32 shows in North America through the end of October, according to numbers reported to Billboard Boxscore. With those figures, Karol G has now earned the highest U.S.-grossing tour by a female Latin act.

With $Trip Love, the “Provenza” singer surpasses Jennifer Lopez‘s $50 million grossing It’s My Party World Tour in 2019. Meanwhile, Shakira grossed $28.2 million in 2018 with her El Dorado World Tour.

This year, Rosalía’s Motomami world tour has grossed $28.1 million through the end of October.

The AEG-produced $Trip Love stint, which kicked off on September 6 at Chicago’s Allstate Arena and wrapped up October 29 at Vancouver’s Rogers Arena, followed Karol’s Bichota Tour in 2021 — her first-ever headlining trek in the U.S. — which grossed $13.4 million and sold 192,000 tickets across 26 shows in North America.

Compared to her last tour, this one boasted a larger production scale. There was a heart-shaped stage, jumbo screens with a heart border, and a floating turquoise Ferrari that, when she rode it to sing “El Makinon,” brought her closer to her fans. On stage, Karol was joined by eight female dancers, four male dancers, two exotic dancers and, of course, her all-girl band.

After wrapping up the tour in North America, Karol G took to social media to write: “Thank you God for the conviction you have given me. Thank you to all the people that worked with me day and night to make this dream possible and to the artists who shared the stage with me during the tour. You made the show shine even more with your presence. We enjoyed this tour like we were little kids, but worked like machines. This is for my home, Colombia.”

Karol G, who is releasing a new song on Sunday (November 13), is currently working on her forthcoming album, which will follow her chart-topping, Grammy-nominated 2021 set KG0516. The album scored Karol her first-ever No. 1 album on Billboard‘s Top Latin Albums chart.

Karol G is also slated to headline the 16th annual Calibash, taking place January 21-22 at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. She joins a previously billed group of headliners that includes Ozuna, Myke Towers and Farruko.

Bad Bunny Has September’s Highest Grossing Tour with “World’s Hottest Tour”

Posted on October 27, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Bad Bunny is back on top…

For the fourth time this year, the 28-year-old Puerto Rican superstar tops Billboard’s monthly Boxscore ranking with the highest grossing tour of September.

In February, he became the first Latin act to top the list since the monthly tally began in February 2019.

In March, he scored the highest monthly total for an arena tour since the charts launched. In August, when he bulked up to stadiums, he claimed the title for the largest monthly sum for a solo act.

With his September victory, Bad Bunny is running out of records to rewrite. Over 11 shows from September 1 to 30, World’s Hottest Tour earned $123.7 million and sold over 500,000 tickets, according to figures reported to Billboard Boxscore. That’s the highest one-month gross since the charts premiered, bypassing The Rolling Stones’ August 2019 haul of $95 million to become the first act to earn more than $100 million in a single month.

Bad Bunny’s September run included three markets each in Texas (Houston, San Antonio and Arlington) and California (Oakland, San Diego and Inglewood), plus two shows in Las Vegas and one in Phoenix. His September 30-October 1 double-header at Inglewood’s SoFi Stadium was the obvious highlight, earning $31.1 million from 99,816 tickets sold, even though half of that sum will count toward the October rankings.

Bad Bunny’s September (and one October) shows brings the North American total for World’s Hottest Tour to $232.5 million, aided by local records in four out of every five venues it played.

Further, his latest victory puts him in elite company, tying Elton John for the most months atop Top Tours. Each act has crowned four monthly editions – John three times in 2019 and once in 2020, and Bad Bunny all in 2022. Even more impressive for Bunny, he’s undefeated.

He claimed top honors in February and March, when El Ultimo Tour Del Mundo began, took much of the spring and summer off, and returned in August, when he regained the top spot (and again in September). He played a trio of shows in April and July, but if Bad Bunny was properly on tour in 2022, he’s been No. 1 on Top Tours.

Bad Bunny Notches Highest Grossing Latin Tour in Billboard Boxscore History with “World’s Hottest Tour”

Posted on October 6, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Bad Bunny is rolling past an iconic group into the concert history books…

Earlier this year, the 28-year-old Puerto Rican superstar embarked on his massive tour, earning $116.8 million in North American arenas on El Ultimo Tour Del Mundo, according to figures reported to Billboard Boxscore.

It became the highest grossing Latin tour in Boxscore history and rewrote local records in more than half of the markets where he played.

Only six months later, Bad Bunny launched his second tour of 2022 and doubled the gross of his prior record-breaking trek – and he’s only just finished the first leg.

World’s Hottest Tour wrapped its U.S. leg in stadiums, grossing $232.5 million and selling 944,000 tickets from just 21 shows.

That averages out to $11.1 million and 45,000 tickets per show. Currently, World’s Hottest Tour boasts a bigger per-show average gross than any tour by any artist in any genre, in Boxscore history (dating back to the late 1980s).

The Rolling Stones previously paced $9.4 million on the No Filter Tour (2017-21), but have been bested by el Conejo Malo with the first tour to average more than $10 million per night. Inflation, dynamic pricing and platinum ticketing certainly give an advantage to more recent tours, but Bad Bunny’s unrelenting pace in the U.S., especially as a contemporary artist who doesn’t perform in English, makes World’s Hottest Tour one to watch, to say the least.

World’s Hottest Tour broke venue revenue records in 12 of the 15 U.S. markets that it played. Shows in Cumberland, Ga.; Miami; the Bronx; Houston; San Antonio; San Diego; and Phoenix were the highest grossing engagements in each venue’s history. Further, his shows in Orlando; Boston; Chicago; Washington, D.C.; and Oakland, Calif., were all-time highs among single-night performances.

Arlington, Texas; Las Vegas; and Inglewood, Calif., are the only markets where Bad Bunny didn’t set a record, coming in second in each. In the latter two cities, he was blocked by BTS, who played four shows at each stadium, compared to Bad Bunny’s two.

Breaking the record he set earlier this year, his latest trek is now the biggest tour by a Spanish-speaking performer in Boxscore history, giving Bad Bunny the top two positions on the all-time Latin breakout. But, again, his big year goes far beyond genre distinctions, as he is the only artist to ever launch two separate $100 million tours in the same calendar year.

Combined, and including three Puerto Rican shows in July that were not officially part of either tour, Bad Bunny has earned $353.2 million and sold 1.6 million tickets in 2022, all in North America. World’s Hottest Tour resumes on Oct. 21 in Santo Domingo, kicking off a 22-show run in Latin America before closing in Mexico City on Dec. 10.

Bad Bunny’s “World’s Hottest Tour” Named Top-Grossing Tour of August

Posted on October 2, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Bad Bunny continues making history on the road…

The 28-year-old Puerto Rican superstar has conquered stadiums this summer with the top-grossing tour of August.

World’s Hottest Tour – Bad Bunny’s second chart-topping trek of 2022 – grossed $91.1 million and sold 404,000 tickets during the month, according to figures reported to Billboard Boxscore.

Bad Bunny had previously mounted the biggest Latin tour in Billboard Boxscore history with $117 million on El Ultimo Tour del Mundo. Billboard began compiling Boxscore data in the late 1980s.

The total for Bad Bunny’s new tour, World’s Hottest Tour, is the second-highest one-month gross since the launch of Billboard’s monthly charts in February 2019.

Only The Rolling Stones have surpassed it in that time, grossing $95 million in August 2019.

Bunny had already claimed the all-time runner-up spot with his $65 million haul in March, though Coldplay snuck by with a $66.7 million take just last month. Now, he re-secures his standing with the highest one-month Boxscore gross for a solo act in the three years Billboard has been compiling monthly charts.

Bad Bunny only played nine shows in August, averaging a blistering $10.1 million and 45,000 tickets per show. While other artists near the top of the touring pack also played to massive crowds in stadiums around the U.S., their grosses are more reasonably head-spinning, between $5 million and $7 million each night.

World’s Hottest Tour, on the other hand, went stratospheric, pushing eight figures per show on the back of Un Verano Sin Ti, Bad Bunny’s summer-defining album that has logged 11 weeks (so far) atop the Billboard 200. Released on May 6, it impacted after the tour was sold out, though the added momentum of new music may have further affected resale demand.

There’s a saying that goes “your biggest competition is yourself.” If that’s true, Bad Bunny continues to win. He hit seven U.S. markets in August, improving upon the gross and attendance in each city from his Spring tour. That might sound obvious to the point of insignificance considering his upgrade to stadiums, but his arena tour played two or three shows in several markets and ultimately broke many local records.

Still, the Bad Bunny of February and March is no match for Bad Bunny of August. His $22.1 million run at Yankee Stadium August 27-28 nearly doubled the already-massive $11.1 million take in Brooklyn and Newark, N.J., combined. Grosses doubled, and then some, in Atlanta, Boston and Washington, D.C. His one show at Chicago’s Soldier Field earned $13.8 million and sold 51,791 tickets, besting a three-show run at the Allstate Arena ($11.2 million, 51,430 tickets) March 10-12.

August is Bad Bunny’s third month leading the Top Tours chart, following his gold medals in February and March. That ties him with The Rolling Stones for the second-most time atop the ranking, bested only by Elton John, who crowned four months in 2019-20.

Including a pair of September reports, World’s Hottest Tour has already grossed $122.5 million, eclipsing his previous run to become the highest grossing Latin tour in Boxscore history. It also makes him the first artist, in any genre, to mount two separate $100-million tours in the same year.

All seven plays on Bad Bunny’s August haul make the 30-position Top Boxscores chart, four of which crack the top 10. His shows help lift Soldier Field, Fenway Park and Yankee Stadium to the top five of Top Stadiums. And alongside Daddy Yankee, he helped push Cardenas Marketing Network to No. 3 on Top Promoters, earning $122.4 million, a record high for the Chicago-based company.

J Balvin Returns to Longtime Agency William Morris Endeavor

Posted on September 5, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

J Balvin is back with a familiar team…

The 37-year-old Colombian singer, known as the Prince of Reggaeton, has returned to his longtime agency William Morris Endeavor (WME).

The move follows a short stint with United Talent Agency (UTA) that started in May. No reason was given for his departure from or return to WME.

Balvin left WME for UTA in May after postponing his 25-date José tour. The move was surprising considering Balvin’s long and storied history with the agency. WME began booking Balvin when he still an emerging artist, and the agency played an integral role in his global touring and branding, securing early placements for him in major festivals.

UTA never formally announced its deal with Balvin, but the agency has been growing its Latin roster and currently represents several high-profile Latin stars. Bad Bunny, Balvin’s Universal Music labelmate Karol G and Brazilian powerhouse Anitta are all currently on UTA’s roster.

Balvin has grossed more than $20 million and sold over 300,000 tickets, according to figures reported to Billboard Boxscore. All six of the Colombian star’s full-length studio albums — including the collaborative Oasis album with Bad Bunny — have reached the top 10 on Billboard’s Top Latin Albums chart, with four of them hitting No. 1. He’s charted 93 hits on Billboard’s Hot Latin Songs chart, including 35 top 10s and nine No. 1s. In every year from 2014 through 2021, he’s finished as one of the year’s top 10 artists on Billboard’s annual year-end Top Latin Artists chart.

Other WME Latin acts include Nicky Jam, Juanes, Ozuna and Shakira.

Balvin continues to be managed by longtime manager Fabio Acosta along with Scooter Braun’s SB Projects.

Bad Bunny Reveals New Album Name via Online Classified Ad

Posted on April 24, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Extra, extra, read all about the name of Bad Bunny’s new album…

The 28-year-old Puerto Rican superstar revealed the name of his upcoming album in the most peculiar way: an ad of a 2019 Bugatti Chiron for sale.

The ad popped up in a Puerto Rican classifieds website with info on the car and the person who was selling it, which was Benito A. Martinez Ocasio (Bad Bunny’s real name).

Curious fans begin dialing the number listed on and realized they were calling to hear a snippet of a song and would later receive a text message with the name of the album.

“Hello! Thank you for calling. There’s little time left until the album comes out. I can’t say the date yet, but I can tell you the name: Un Verano Sin Ti.

The upcoming album will follow his 2020 set, El Último Tour del Mundo, which won a Grammy earlier this month for best música urbana album.

In January, El Conejo Malo hinted at his new album via a post on social media that opens with the “Safaera” singer and his girlfriend, Gabriela Berlingeri, having a romantic beach dinner and enjoying a conversation about his tour and the album.

“We need to start worrying less and enjoy life more because it passes by fast, very fast, just like the tickets selling out for El Último Tour del Mundo,” Bunny said. “I was thinking, ‘What if I announce my next tour?’ Therefore, while I work on my new album, which will come out this year, you can buy tickets for my next tour.”

Bad Bunny and his trek, El Úultimo Tour del Mundo, broke records across the country. The tour’s 35 shows grossed $116.8 million and sold 575,000 tickets according to figures reported to Billboard Boxscore.

That breaks down to $3.3 million and 16,400 tickets per night, or $4.7 million and more than 23,000 tickets in each market, considering he played multiple shows in eight cities.

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