Top 25 Tours OF 2010

[Forever ♥ Young]

Concert attendance may have hit a low and tour cancelations may have been common this summer, but in 2010, many touring bands and soloists still made it work. Rock, pop, country, oldies, international -- artists of all genres hit the road and came back with full pockets to prove it. Watch videos from the year's top 25 tours, and relive your moment in the front row. (Artists are ranked by total gross earnings, according to Billboard Boxscore, from Nov. 22, 2009 through Nov. 20, 2010.)

1. BON JOVI

Total Gross: $146,507,388 Number of Shows: 69
Total Attendance: 1,591,154 Number of Sell-Outs: 69


2. U2
Total Gross: $131,502,369 Number of Shows: 22
Total Attendance: 1,312,784 Number of Sell-Outs: 22



3. AC/DC
Total Gross: $122,633,027 Number of Shows: 28
Total Attendance: 1,155,998 Number of Sell-Outs: 19



4. LADY GAGA
Total Gross: $116,227,987 Number of Shows: 122
Total Attendance: 1,362,993 Number of Sell-Outs: 101



5. BLACK EYED PEAS
Total Gross: $81,579,114 Number of Shows: 82
Total Attendance: 1,263,625 Number of Sell-Outs: 82


6. JAMES TAYLOR & CAROLE KING
Total Gross: $62,326,410 Number of Shows: 54
Total Attendance: 693,271 Number of Sell-Outs: 23


7. EAGLES
Total Gross: $62,166,344 Number of Shows: 40
Total Attendance: 587,165 Number of Sell-Outs: 12


8. METALLICA
Total Gross: $61,947,556 Number of Shows: 33
Total Attendance: 700,219 Number of Sell-Outs: 13


9. DAVE MATTHEWS BAND
Total Gross: $61,247,906 Number of Shows: 57
Total Attendance: 1,052,312 Number of Sell-Outs: 25


10. PAUL McCARTNEY
Total Gross: $55,760,403 Number of Shows: 21
Total Attendance: 394,186 Number of Sell-Outs: 20


11. MICHAEL BUBLE
Total Gross: $52,887,642 Number of Shows: 60
Total Attendance: 650,223 Number of Sell-Outs: 47



12. TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA
Total Gross: $47,395,108 Number of Shows: 134
Total Attendance: 1,061,120 Number of Sell-Outs: 51


13. TIM McGRAW
Total Gross: $44,782,598 Number of Shows: 71
Total Attendance: 880,688 Number of Sell-Outs: 29


14. TOM PETTY & THE HEARTBREAKERS
Total Gross: $44,696,605 Number of Shows: 46
Total Attendance: 657,610 Number of Sell-Outs: 16


15. TAYLOR SWIFT
Total Gross: $40,312,810 Number of Shows: 47
Total Attendance: 643,168 Number of Sell-Outs: 45


16. ANDRÉ RIEU
Total Gross: $39,992,285 Number of Shows: 86
Total Attendance: 444,996 Number of Sell-Outs: 10


17. BRAD PAISLEY
Total Gross: $38,638,839 Number of Shows: 62
Total Attendance: 842,679 Number of Sell-Outs: 32


18. GEORGE STRAIT & REBA McENTIRE
Total Gross: $36,666,304 Number of Shows:27
Total Attendance: 439,698 Number of Sell-Outs: 13


19. JUSTIN BIEBER
Total Gross: $35,600,276 Number of Shows: 62
Total Attendance: 739,533 Number of Sell-Outs:57


20. NICKELBACK
Total Gross: $35,035,196 Number of Shows: 41
Total Attendance: 497,072 Number of Sell-Outs: 16


21. PHISH
Total Gross: $33,240,962 Number of Shows: 43
Total Attendance: 658,243 Number of Sell-Outs: 21


22. MILEY CYRUS
Total Gross: $33,126,226 Number of Shows: 23
Total Attendance: 337,408 Number of Sell-Outs: 13


23. RASCAL FLATTS
Total Gross: $31,465,481 Number of Shows: 54
Total Attendance: 630,126 Number of Sell-Outs: 14


24. CARRIE UNDERWOOD
Total Gross: $29,743,522 Number of Shows: 81
Total Attendance: 608,319 Number of Sell-Outs: 39


25. TIËSTO
Total Gross: $28,626,366 Number of Shows: 110
Total Attendance: 525,894 Number of Sell-Outs: 45


www.billboard.com/features/best-of-2010-1004133971.story#/features/top-25-tours-2010-1004134022.story

[Kishi KCM]

Those are some healthy numbers. It's crazy to see GaGa up there with titans U2, Bon Jovi, AC/DC, and BEP. You go girl!

[Agent Yoncé]

GaGa is seriously doing the damn thing! Congrats!

[jj99$ - - LeLe]

okay GaGa needs to slow down 122 showsm it cant be good for her health.

Hardest working woman in Music... End of

[wunderkind]

I'm surprised Carrie Underwood did as well as she did. That's awesome. Between that and her amazing album/single sales, it was a great year for her!

[pnobelysk]

i went to BEP and Nickelback, both were amazing

[Deleted]

I went to five of those shows -- Lady Gaga, Brad Paisley, Rascal Flatts, Nickelback, and Carrie Underwood (2 of them on this tour), and they were ALL fantastic and deserve their spots on this list.

Very, very healthy numbers. It must feel good to make that much in a single year, eh?

[freeman]

Gaga is just awesome! 122 shows is certainly a lot!
Yay for Carrie!!! She did great! :) Awesome year for her!

[rosemoor]

Is this just US tour? I know Michael Buble had more than 100 dates worldwide last year.

[$uperb@tDuDe]

U2 must charge an insane amount for their tickets

[slicknickshady]

No A Perfect Circle. They only did a west coast tour though.

[HolidayGuy]

This is for any reported worldwide dates. The period covered usually is mid- to-late November to mid-to-late November.

[Kishi KCM]

Dec 9, 2010 20:32:57 GMT -5 jj99$ - - LeLe said:

okay GaGa needs to slow down 122 showsm it cant be good for her health.

Hardest working woman in Music... End of

122 concerts in 1 year isn't bad. Many touring acts have just done smaller numbers in the last decade or so.

[jayrock]

These can't be official numbers as Cher grossed $35.8 million in Vegas

[Deleted]

Dec 10, 2010 22:41:50 GMT -5 jayrock said:

These can't be official numbers as Cher grossed $35.8 million in Vegas

Is that considered a tour, though? She has the contract with the Coliseum at Caesar's Palace there so she can perform there numerous times a week, so since she's not traveling, is it still considered a tour?

[$uperb@tDuDe]

Poor Gaga, she doesn't know when to sit down. She's touring more arenas next year no?

[slicknickshady]

Yeah, I don't call what Eminem and Jay Z did a tour either. One or Two off shows are not tours. Two in The D and Two in The Bronx don't constitute a tour. Why would Cher Vegas totals be different? It's not a tour. Neither was Em and Jay. I dropped good money on the Detroit shows. I bought two tickets to each D show.

[bat1990]

25. TIËSTO
Total Gross: $28,626,366 Number of Shows: 110
Total Attendance: 525,894 Number of Sell-Outs: 45


Now I see how he keeps putting out albums and compilations.

[Music Fan]

Bon Jovi, U2, and Black Eyed Peas have the only tour completely sold out! :o

Glad to see the Peas up there.

And U2 doesn't charge to much, do they? They played many stadiums, so that might be why they're so high up.

[$uperb@tDuDe]

Dec 11, 2010 13:34:30 GMT -5 Music Fan said:

Bon Jovi, U2, and Black Eyed Peas have the only tour completely sold out! :o

Glad to see the Peas up there.

And U2 doesn't charge to much, do they? They played many stadiums, so that might be why they're so high up.

you're right about U2, I didn't even think to look at the attendance #'s, just saw they did 22 shows and were made 131 million.

Does anyone know how much the artist actually makes from profit on average?

[Lockheart]

Go GaGa! People still flock to see U2 in concert. Only 22 shows yet has almost the same amount of people as the rest of the top 10. Carrie's numbers are nothing to write about. I don't know much about her touring history, but if you look at it, it's kinda sad

[Joe1240]

15. TAYLOR SWIFT
Total Gross: $40,312,810 Number of Shows: 47
Total Attendance: 643,168 Number of Sell-Outs: 45

Yay for Taylor being on the list! :)

[Kishi KCM]

Dec 11, 2010 4:09:35 GMT -5 $uperb@tDuDe said:

Poor Gaga, she doesn't know when to sit down. She's touring more arenas next year no?

Of course. February to May...USA, Canada, and Mexico.

[Deleted]

Dec 11, 2010 15:04:09 GMT -5 Lockheart said:

Go GaGa! People still flock to see U2 in concert. Only 22 shows yet has almost the same amount of people as the rest of the top 10. Carrie's numbers are nothing to write about. I don't know much about her touring history, but if you look at it, it's kinda sad

This is her second headlining tour, and the first one only lasted a little half of a year. Seeing as she was able to crack the Top 25 of the year with a tour that lasted only a month or two longer than her first one, it actually is pretty impressive.

[HolidayGuy]

Residencies are not tours; Billboard reports yearly grosses at outlets like Caesar's Palace (for the smaller-venue category), but does not include residences on the top tours list. Pollstar, on the other hand, does.