Billboard Boxscore, which compiles monthly lists of top-grossing concerts, ranked Beyoncé in the Top 3 and Lady Gaga at No. 4 in its rankings for May, out of 30 separate concert appearances. The number 5 position was held by Kendrik Lamar and SZA.
Beyoncé took the top three spots with 12 concerts across three locations in the US attended by 567,000 people and raked in US$157.4 million in total. Lady Gaga was also the only artist in the list who performed outside the US.
This was based solely on her concerts at Singapore’s National Stadium on 18, 19, 21, and 24 May. Her Singapore concerts were her only ticketed performances in May, considering her concert at Brazil’s Copacabana Beach attended by over 2.5 million people according to Billboard, was free.
Lady Gaga’s concert broke the previous record of 1.6 million spectators for Madonna’s concert also at Copacabana Beach, thus becoming the concert by a female artist with the highest number of spectators in history as certified by the Guiness World of Records.
Lady Gaga’s four sold-out concerts in Singapore in May brought in a massive US$40.8 million (S$52 million) in revenue, or US$10.2 million (S$13 million) per night. A total of 193,000 tickets were sold.
National Stadium ranked No. 4 on list of Top Stadiums
The concerts were also a boon for Singapore’s National Stadium, which made it to No. 4 on Billboard’s list of 10 Top Stadiums in May. It was the only non-US stadium on the list.
How much revenue did Lady Gaga bring in to Singapore?
While the US$40 million in gross revenue is indeed significant, it remains to be seen how much was injected into Singapore’s economy through the concerts.
A number of social media posts have claimed, without citing sources, that Lady Gaga now holds the record for the highest reported per-show gross revenue of US$10.2 million (S$13 million) for any artist in Singapore.
Taylor Swift’s concerts in Singapore
Inevitably, Lady Gaga’s concerts will draw comparisons with the six nights of sold-out concerts Taylor Swift held in Singapore in March 2024.
Her six sold-out concerts from 2 to 9 March 2024 could boost Singapore’s economy by up to S$500 million (US$372 million) in tourism receipts, according to economists’ estimates.
Tourism receipts from the Swift and Coldplay concerts totalled S$350m to S$450m, six percent more than the average first-quarter figures in 2023, according to the Monetary Authority of Singapore, citing private sector analysts.
According to Forbes, Swift earned US$13.6 million (S$17.3 million) for each night of her Eras Tour.
Whilst the Gaga concerts might fall short in terms of direct revenue compared with Swift, a local expert thinks their overall impact could be on par.
High-profile concerts, including Lady Gaga’s, have helped reshape perceptions of Singapore, he pointed out. “It has made Singapore look more fun, energetic and exciting, beyond just being seen as a place for culture and shopping.”
