A concert tour (or simply tour ) is a series of concerts by an artist or group of artists in different cities, countries or locations. Often, concert tours are named to differentiate different tours by the same artist and to associate a specific tour with a particular album or product. Especially in the popular music world, such tours can become large-scale enterprises that last for several months or even years, are seen by hundreds of thousands or millions of people, and bring in millions of dollars in ticket revenues. A performer who embarks on a concert tour is called a touring artist .
56-778: The Dangerous World Tour was the second world concert tour by American singer Michael Jackson and was staged to promote his eighth studio album Dangerous . The tour was sponsored by Pepsi-Cola . All profits were donated to various charities including Jackson's own " Heal the World Foundation ". It began in Munich , Germany , on June 27, 1992, and concluded in Mexico City , Mexico , on November 11, 1993, playing 69 concerts in Europe , Asia and Latin America . Jackson performed in stadiums across
112-511: A zombie and dancing with a horde of them. It has been named the greatest music video of all time by various publications and readers' polls, and doubled sales of Thriller , helping it become the best-selling album in history . It was the album's seventh top-ten single on the Billboard Hot 100 , reaching number four. It reached number one in Flanders , France and Portugal and Spain, and reached
168-498: A clap from a TR-808 . "Thriller" also features Rhodes piano performed by Greg Phillinganes and guitar performed by David Williams . To record the wolf howls, Swedien set up tape recorders up around his Great Dane in a barn overnight, but the dog never howled. Instead, Jackson recorded the howls himself. For the creaking doors, Swedien rented doors designed for sound effects from the Universal Studios Lot and recorded
224-763: A new form of theatrical entertainment, a fusion of song, performance art, innovative stage craft, and state-of-the-art technology. She managed to popularize the Las Vegas residency as a desirable way for top artists to essentially tour in place, letting their fans come to them. American singer Lady Gaga , who cancelled the 2018 European leg of her Joanne World Tour , signed for a Las Vegas residency to help manage her fibromyalgia illness, which can be exacerbated by touring. The 2015 study by charity Help Musicians found that over 60% of musicians suffered from depression or other psychological issues, with touring an issue for 71% of respondents. Thriller (song) " Thriller "
280-402: A signature for Jackson" and described "the groove of its bassline, paired with Michael's killer vocals and sleek moves" as having "produced a frighteningly great single." Jon Pareles of The New York Times noted that "'Billie Jean', 'Beat It', 'Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' ' and "the movie in the song 'Thriller'", were the songs, unlike the "fluff" "P.Y.T.", that were "the hits that made Thriller
336-413: A single about monsters?" By mid-1983, sales of the album had begun to decline. Jackson, who was "obsessive" about his sales figures, urged Yetnikoff and another Epic executive, Larry Stessel, to help conceive a plan to return the album to the top of the charts. Jackson's manager Frank DiLeo suggested releasing "Thriller", backed by a new music video. It was the final single from the album, released in
392-522: A special, and the other on the Dangerous Diaries documentary. Both versions have placed a snippet of Jackson's original a cappella recording for "Billie Jean" over the live vocals when Jackson throws his fedora. During the Cardiff concert performed on August 5, the show was temporarily halted between " She's Out of My Life " and the "Jackson 5 Medley" due to heavy rain, with a message being sent out over
448-477: Is Taylor Swift 's Eras Tour , with $ 2.089 billion earned from 125 shows. In 2024, Coldplay 's Music of the Spheres World Tour became the second tour to gross $ 1 billion in revenue. In third place is Elton John 's Farewell Yellow Brick Road , with a total gross of $ 939 million from 2018–2023. On fourth place is Ed Sheeran 's ÷ Tour , with a gross of $ 776.2 million. On fifth place
504-400: Is U2 's 360° Tour , with $ 736.4 million. Global touring revenue reported to Billboard Boxscore exceeded $ 5.5 billion in 2016. Due to the collapse of record sales in the 21st century, concert tours have become a major source of income for recording artists. Besides the tickets, touring also generates money from the sales of merchandise and meet-and-greet packages. However,
560-443: Is a concert tour intended to signal the retirement of a singer, the disbanding of a band, or the end of a show's run. Many of the tours end up not being the last tour, with frequent regroupings, or revivals of shows. Luciano Pavarotti 's 2004 tour and Kenny Rogers 's 2015–2017 tour are examples of farewell tours which were the last to be staged before their deaths. As of October 2024, the highest-grossing concert tour of all time
616-439: Is a peculiar thing, it doesn't suit me particularly well. I'm a real homebody and I get so much joy in the small things." A concert residency concept is offered as an alternative to performers who just need to stay in one venue and the fans come to see them. The concept has been revitalized in the 21st century by Canadian superstar Céline Dion with the success of her A New Day... residency (2003–2007). Her residency introduced
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#1733084963891672-437: Is a retrospective of her career to that point, where each act of the concert represents one of her albums . In another case, artists embark on a concert tour to celebrate the anniversary of their past albums, such as U2 's 2017 tour to mark the 30th anniversary of The Joshua Tree (1987) and Janet Jackson 's 2019 tour to commemorate the 30th anniversary of Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814 (1989). A farewell tour
728-590: Is a song by the American singer Michael Jackson . It was released by Epic Records on November 11, 1983 in the United Kingdom and on January 23, 1984, in the United States, as the seventh and final single from his sixth studio album, Thriller . "Thriller" is a disco song featuring a repeating synthesizer bassline and lyrics and sound effects evoking horror films . It includes a spoken-word sequence performed by
784-483: Is placed into a coffin which disappears when dancers posing as the skeletons and zombies drape a cloth over the coffin and pull it out. Jackson then appears on an upper stage level and sings "Billie Jean". When the full trick was not performed, it featured a sequence with the Jackson impersonator and the backup dancers performing dances from "Thriller". In some concerts, the Jackson impersonator would go back stage after singing
840-635: The Billboard Hot 100 chart multiple times due to its popularity around Halloween and is one of the bestselling singles of all time . "Thriller" is a disco-funk song. It was written by the English songwriter Rod Temperton , who had previously written " Rock with You " and " Off the Wall " for Jackson's 1979 album Off the Wall . Temperton wanted to write something theatrical to suit Jackson's love of film. He improvised with bass and drum patterns until he developed
896-774: The Recording Industry Association of America on December 4, 1989, for sales of over one million physical units in the US As of August 2016, the song had sold 4,024,398 copies in the US. The song was later certified Diamond by RIAA for sales over 10 million equivalent-units. "Thriller" reached number one on three different Billboard charts the week of November 8, 2023, more than a decade after Jackson's death. Those charts included: R&B/Hip-Hop Streaming Songs, R&B Streaming Songs and R&B Digital Song Sales charts. Ashley Lasimone, of AOL 's Spinner.com, noted that it "became
952-415: The bassline that runs through the song, then wrote a chord progression that built to a climax. He recalled: "I wanted it to build and build – a bit like stretching an elastic band throughout the tune to heighten suspense." Temperton's first version was titled "Starlight", with the chorus lyric: "Give me some starlight / Starlight sun". The production team, led by Quincy Jones , felt the song should be
1008-581: The 1984. "Thriller" charted at number 19 on the Hot R&;B/Hip-Hop Songs Chart . On March 10, 1984, it reached its peak at number 3. "Thriller" debuted on the UK Singles Chart on November 19, 1983, at number 24, and the following week peaked at number ten; it appeared on the chart for 52 weeks. Beginning on February 5, 1984, "Thriller" peaked on the French Singles Chart at number one and topped
1064-596: The 1992 European leg of the tour, MTV was given permission to film backstage reports, interview the cast and film live performance. The mini-show was hosted by Sonya Saul and had six 15-minute mini-episodes of concerts in Munich, Werchter, Dublin, Stockholm, Hamburg, Cardiff, London, Leeds, Berlin, Oviedo, and Madrid. Performances include " Billie Jean ", " Black or White ", " Jam ", " Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' ", and " Will You Be There ". The concert in Bucharest on October 1, 1992,
1120-759: The Australian ARIA Chart and Swiss Singles Chart and topped the Spanish Singles Charts for one week. The song also placed within the top ten on the German Singles Chart , Norwegian Singles Chart and Irish Singles Chart , at number nine, number seven and number eight respectively. "Thriller" also landed at number 25 on the Danish Singles Chart . In the third week of July "Thriller" peaked at number 11 in Finland. "Thriller" has returned to
1176-561: The Billboard Hot 100 chart multiple times due to its popularity around Halloween . It re-entered the Billboard Hot 100 in October 2013 at number 42, number 31 in November 2018, and number 19 in November 2021, its highest placement since 1984. This gave Jackson at least one top-20 hit across seven consecutive decades from 1969 on the Billboard Hot 100. "Thriller" was certified platinum by
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#17330849638911232-482: The US in January 1984. Alternative versions of "Thriller", including the "Starlight" demo, were released on the anniversary reissue Thriller 40 (2022). The music video for "Thriller" references numerous horror films , and stars Jackson performing a dance routine with a horde of the undead . It was directed by the horror director John Landis and written by Landis and Jackson. Jackson contacted Landis after seeing
1288-553: The World Foundation in lieu of payment to Jackson. The 1993 leg of the tour started in Bangkok, Thailand on August 24, the same day that a child sexual abuse accusation against Jackson was made public. The September 1, concert in Singapore was scheduled for August 30, but was rescheduled due to Jackson collapsing before the show. During his visit to Moscow in September, Jackson came up with
1344-402: The artist and type of tour, but the most common means of separating legs are dates (especially if there is a long break at some point), countries and/or continents, or different opening acts. In the largest concert tours, it has become more common for different legs to employ separate touring production crews and equipment, local to each geographical region. Concert tours are often administered on
1400-494: The charity by Christmas 1993. It was revealed that Jackson planned to perform across Europe , Asia , Latin America , and Australia , with no dates in the United States or Canada . Jackson commented: "I am looking forward to this tour because it will allow me to devote time to visiting children all around the world, as well as spread the message of global love, in the hope that others will be moved to do their share to help heal
1456-677: The chart for four consecutive weeks. "Thriller" also topped the Belgian VRT Top 30 Chart for two weeks in January 1984. Following Jackson's death in 2009, his music surged in popularity. In the week of his death, "Thriller" was Jackson's best-selling track in the US, with sales of 167,000 copies on the Billboard Hot Digital Singles Chart . On July 11, 2009, "Thriller" charted on the Billboard Hot Digital Singles Chart at number two (its peak), and
1512-483: The director's film, An American Werewolf in London . The pair conceived a 13-minute short film with a budget much larger than previous music videos. Jackson's record company refused to finance it, believing Thriller had peaked, so a making-of documentary, Making Michael Jackson's Thriller , was produced to receive financing from television networks. Michael Jackson's Thriller premiered on MTV on December 2, 1983. It
1568-517: The hinges. Vincent Price recorded his part in three takes; Jones, acknowledging that doing a voice-over for a song is difficult, praised Price and described his takes as "fabulous". The album Thriller was released in November 1982 on Epic Records and spent months at the top of the Billboard 200 . "Thriller" was not initially planned for release as a single, as Epic saw it as a novelty song . The Epic executive Walter Yetnikoff asked: "Who wants
1624-449: The horror actor Vincent Price which begins at the 6:31 mark on the music video and 4:25 in the album version. It was produced by Quincy Jones and written by Rod Temperton , who wanted to write a theatrical song to suit Jackson's love of film. Jackson decided to release "Thriller" as a single after Thriller left the top of the Billboard 200 chart. The "Thriller" music video , directed by John Landis , depicts Jackson turning into
1680-434: The local level by concert promoters or by performing arts presenters . Usually, small concert tours are managed by a road manager whereas large concert tours are managed by a tour manager . The main challenge in concert tours is how to move the performance's logistics from one venue to another venue, especially for a transcontinental tour. Tour logistics should be very organized and everything has to happen on time and in
1736-466: The main chorus of the song, instead of doing a reprise of the "Thriller" dance, and the Zombie backup-dancers would do a reprise of the dance by themselves. Another such illusion was used to transition to " Beat It " from " Working Day and Night ". This was the first tour to have Jackson doing "the lean" during " Smooth Criminal "; the song was part of his Bad tour set list, but its choreography did not match
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1792-500: The microphone a few times and it worked." With the title decided, Temperton wrote lyrics within "a couple of hours". The intro features sound effects such as a creaking door, thunder, footsteps, winds and howling wolves. For the ending, Temperton envisioned a spoken-word sequence, but did not know what form it should take. It was decided to have a famous voice from the horror genre perform it, and Jones' then-wife, Peggy Lipton , suggested her friend Vincent Price . Temperton composed
1848-409: The microphone. Some background vocals were recorded in the studio's shower stall. The bassline was performed on an ARP 2600 synthesizer, and the verse pads were performed on a Roland Jupiter-8 layered with a Sequential Circuits Prophet 5 . The percussion was created with a LinnDrum drum machine modified with sound chips from two other drum machines: a snare, hi-hat and congas from an LM-1 and
1904-493: The music video (which only premiered on TV during the second American leg of the tour). During the Europe leg in 1992, MTV was allowed to film backstage and broadcast six 15-minute episodes of the tour. The show was called The Dangerous Diaries and was presented by Sonya Saul. MTV released footage of "Billie Jean" and " Black or White " at the first show in Munich. "Billie Jean" was released with two different versions, one by MTV as
1960-410: The right order as planned. Autoweek magazine estimated 30 to 50 trucks were required by Taylor Swift 's The 1989 World Tour to bring all the stage, sound equipment, instruments, props, and clothes. When Beyoncé visited the United Kingdom with her 2016 The Formation World Tour , it took seven Boeing 747 air freighters and a fleet of more than 70 trucks to get her stage set and other gear to
2016-410: The second of two CableACE Awards of his career, this one for Outstanding Performance Musical Special. On January 27, 1989, Jackson finished his Bad tour , his first as a solo artist, which had grossed over $ 125 million. Initially he planned not to tour again and concentrate on making albums and films. Following the release of his eighth studio album Dangerous in November 1991, a press conference
2072-483: The song " Stranger in Moscow " which would be released on his succeeding album HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I . It was during a time when Jackson felt very alone, far away from his family and friends, yet every night throughout his tours fans would stay by his hotel and support him. All concerts were professionally filmed by Nocturne Productions Inc., which filmed all of Jackson's tours and private affairs. During
2128-676: The song remained in the charts' top ten for three consecutive weeks. In the United Kingdom, the song charted at number 23 the week of Jackson's death. The following week, the song reached its peak at number 12 on the UK Single Chart. On July 12, 2009, "Thriller" peaked at number two on the Italian Singles Chart and was later certified gold by the Federation of the Italian Music Industry . "Thriller" reached at number three on
2184-476: The sound tower and all the kids are everywhere. And when he jumped out of whatever the hell that thing was [...] the kids in front of me were looking back and I didn't even know it." Most of the 1992 shows included a stage trick during the transition from " Thriller " to " Billie Jean ", whereby Jackson walks into two pillars and is secretly switched with a werewolf-masked backup dancer disguised as himself while he changes outfits for "Billie Jean". The masked "Jackson"
2240-554: The speakers. Jackson also had to stand on a towel to keep balance during " I Just Can't Stop Loving You ". The Toulouse concert performed on September 16, featured a special instrumental performance of the first half of the song " In the Closet " as an interlude between the songs " Heal the World " and " Man in the Mirror ". Princess Stéphanie of Monaco , who was the "Mystery Girl" in the actual song,
2296-411: The title track, but that "Starlight" was not a strong album title. Instead, they wanted something "mysterious" to match Jackson's "evolving persona". Temperton considered several titles, including "Midnight Man", which Jones felt was "going in the right direction". Finally, he conceived "Thriller", but worried that it was "a crap word to sing ... It sounded terrible! However, we got Michael to spit it into
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2352-622: The top ten in many other countries. In the week of Jackson's death in 2009, it was Jackson's bestselling track in the United States, with sales of 167,000 copies on the Billboard Hot Digital Tracks chart. It entered the Billboard Hot Digital Singles Chart at number two, and remained in the charts' top ten for three consecutive weeks. "Thriller" is certified Diamond by the Recording Industry Association of America . It appears on several of Jackson's greatest-hits albums and has been covered by numerous artists. The song has returned to
2408-494: The touring business suffered in the early 2020s because of the COVID-19 pandemic . Pollstar estimated the total lost revenue for the industry in 2020 at more than $ 30 billion. The mobility of concert tours requires a lot of costs, time, and energy. It is very common for musicians to not see family members for over a year during their touring. British singer Adele expressed her unhappiness of concert tours, saying "Touring
2464-577: The venues. The logistics phase of that tour did not include transportation of the backstage staff, musicians, performers, and the singer herself. The majority of concert tours are part of a promotional campaign to support an album release. Hence, new songs from the respective album are included on its tour's setlist . Some tours are known as "greatest hits tours" or "reunion tour" without any new material or specific album release, such as Fleetwood Mac 's 2009 Unleashed tour and No Doubt 's 2009 Summer Tour . Taylor Swift 's The Eras Tour (2023–2024)
2520-404: The video has one billion views on YouTube. It is the fourth Michael Jackson music video to break the milestone and can be watched in 4K. "Thriller" entered the Billboard Hot 100 charts at number 20. It reached number seven the following week, number five the next, and peaked the next week at number four, where it stayed for two weeks. It finished as the #78 single on Billboard's Hot 100 for
2576-474: The words for Price's part in a taxi on the way to the studio on the day of recording. Along with the rest of the album, "Thriller" was recorded over eight weeks in 1982. It was recorded at Westlake Recording Studios on Santa Monica Boulevard in Los Angeles, California. The engineer Bruce Swedien had Jackson record his vocals in different approaches, doubling takes and recording at different distances from
2632-704: The world with all being sold out in countries in Asia, Latin America, and Europe. At the tour's end, it grossed over $ 100 million and was attended by 3,500,000 people. The October 1, 1992, concert in Bucharest, Romania was filmed for broadcast on the HBO network on October 10. Jackson sold the film rights for the concert for $ 20 million, then the highest amount for a concert performer to appear on television. The special, Live in Bucharest: The Dangerous Tour , earned Jackson
2688-543: The world". In June 1992, a Russian Antonov AN-124 cargo jet, then the world's largest operating airplane, was booked to transport the equipment and stage set from Los Angeles to London for the opening European leg. However, problems regarding its civilian aircraft certification led to Jackson using a Federal Express Boeing 747 instead. Upon arrival, the equipment was transported across Europe by 65 lorries. The cargo included 1,000 lights, 10 miles of electrical cable, 9 video screens, and 168 speakers. Around 2 tons of clothing
2744-552: The zombie dance and Jackson's red jacket , designed by Landis' wife Deborah Nadoolman . The zombie dance, choreographed by Michael Peters for the music video, is re-enacted worldwide by fans and remains popular on YouTube . The Library of Congress described it as "the most famous music video of all time". In 2009, it became the first music video inducted into the National Film Registry as "culturally, historically or aesthetically" significant. As of September 30, 2024,
2800-727: Was filmed and broadcast on television all across the world, giving HBO the highest rating garnered in cable TV History, with an alternate version airing on the BBC. The concert film titled Live in Bucharest: The Dangerous Tour was officially released on DVD on July 25, 2005. Full concerts at Oslo (July 15, 1992) and Copenhagen (July 20, 1992) were fundraised for online by the fans and purchased from private owners of those respective concerts, and performances at Bremen (August 8, 1992), Buenos Aires (October 12, 1993), Mexico City (November 11, 1993) and several scattered amateur recordings have been shared online and can be found on YouTube. The following set list
2856-533: Was held on February 3, 1992 at Radio City Music Hall in New York City to announce the Dangerous World Tour. The event, attended by 200 people, was organized by Jackson's sponsor Pepsi with the artist also present. Jackson explained his sole reason for touring once more was to raise funds for his newly-formed Heal the World Foundation to aid children and the environment. He aimed to raise $ 100 million for
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#17330849638912912-509: Was in attendance at this concert. This concert marked the first and only time that this song was performed during this tour, although it was performed on his next tour . Between the two legs of the tour, Jackson performed a brief but very widely seen and highly acclaimed concert at the Super Bowl XXVII halftime show on January 31, 1993. The National Football League donated $ 100,000 to the Heal
2968-443: Was launched to great anticipation and played regularly on MTV. It doubled sales of Thriller , and the documentary sold over a million copies, becoming the best-selling videotape at the time. It is credited for transforming music videos into a serious art form, breaking down racial barriers in popular entertainment, and popularizing the making-of documentary format. Many elements have had a lasting impact on popular culture, such as
3024-411: Was performed throughout 1992, but is not intended to represent the majority of performances. The following set list was performed throughout 1993, but is not intended to represent the majority of performances. Alterations Sources Concert tour Different segments of longer concert tours are known as "legs". The different legs of a tour are denoted in different ways, dependent on
3080-497: Was transported. The outfits were designed by Michael Bush and Dennis Tompkins, who worked with Jackson to gain an idea on what he wanted, and aimed to "bring his ideas to life". Two outfits were 9 feet tall, 7 feet wide, and weighed 40 lbs each, with fibre optic lights controlled by a computerised laser. One jacket was fitted with a battery belt generating 3,000 volts to light the 36 strobe lights on it. Another had hidden flaps to conceal explosive effects. 1,000 yards of fabric from Europe
3136-424: Was used to make the costumes, including a black and gold outfit for Jackson which included 18-karat gold. The costumes alone cost $ 2 million. The show incorporated various stage illusions. Among them was the "toaster" effect where Jackson entered the stage on a rapidly rising catapult from underneath, sending off pyrotechnics at the same time. His sister Janet Jackson said: "That opening was kick-ass. I'm sitting in
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