Despite the uncertainty of COVID-19's impact bleeding into another year, our stats show that fans' commitment to live music has never waned, with a total of 16, 790, 678 searches for tour dates carried out over the past 12 months via Stereoboard.
Live shows are the life force of any music scene, so we can't give up on working our way back to their safe return, especially when grassroots venues that have fostered so much talent are at risk of closure and valued industry workers are in dire need of support. Head below to check out our Top 50 tours of 2021, and here to find out how to help your local venue in the new year!
This summer saw the singer-songwriter return with new single Bad Habits, which has earned him a Grammy nomination for Song Of The Year. A few weeks later he then announced his highly anticipated new album, '=' (pronounced equals). The follow-up to 2019's 'No.6 Collaborations Project' and 2017's '÷' arrived in October.
A month prior to the record’s release, Sheeran confirmed a UK and European stadium tour for next summer, the first leg on his new + - = ÷ x Tour. People can’t wait to see Sheeran live, which is why well over a million fans searched for his tour dates.
Numerous extra shows were added to the tour due to demand, with a whopping five nights lined up at London’s Wembley Stadium. That’s why he’s number one!
Adele is the people’s popstar, always delivering relatable yet intimate songs that resonate long after the record stops spinning. As her past releases have proven, she just gets better as she matures, and this year’s ‘30’ was no exception.
The powerhouse vocalist and songwriter’s latest LP became the fastest-selling album of the year in its first week.
So, it’s no surprise that fans searched for her tour dates nearly a million times. She’ll headline BST Hyde Park on July 1 and 2, marking her first UK live shows since 2017, and has lined up the Weekends With Adele Las Vegas residency for earlier in 2022.
Coldplay are a Marmite band, but love them or hate them, you cannot deny their popularity. Over 700, 000 gig-goers searched for tickets to their Music Of The Spheres World Tour, which will head to the UK, Europe, Dominican Republic, North America and Mexico throughout 2022.
The trek shares its name with the British band’s new album, 'Music Of The Spheres', released in October. The record’s lead single Higher Power is up for Best Pop Group Performance at next year’s 64th Grammy Awards, marking their 36th Grammy nomination.
The group also made headlines for the sustainable approach to the tour. They’ve made commitments to cut direct emissions by 50% compared to the band’s most recent tour, power the show entirely by renewable, super-low emission energy, ensure all merchandise is sustainably and ethically sourced, and more. Head here for a full list of the amazing initiatives.
They call him the Geordie Bruce Springsteen, but Sam Fender has certainly made a name for himself over the last year. Despite the pandemic-related restrictions, the North Shields singer-songwriter has made the most of the limited live opportunities the year offered, and people can’t wait for more, with almost half a million people seeking out his tour dates.
Prior to a buttload of festival appearances in the summer, Fender will continue his Seventeen Going Under Tour with a UK and Ireland leg in the spring. The run will include two nights at London’s SSE Arena Wembley and two huge hometown shows at Newcastle’s Utilita Arena.
The trek shares its name with his second album, which came out in October and shot to number one on the UK’s Official Albums Chart.
This October, Red Hot Chili Peppers shocked everyone with the announcement of a world tour that’s set to head across mainland Europe, North America, and the UK and Ireland throughout 2022.
The latter leg will feature stadium stops in Manchester, London, Dublin and Glasgow during the summer. Support in Manchester will come from A$AP Rocky and Thundercat, with Anderson .Paak and The Free Nationals, and Thundercat opening in London, Dublin and Glasgow.
The tour will be their first back with longtime guitarist John Frusciante, which explains why fans were so excited and searched the band’s tour dates 433, 987 times.
ABBA sent the music media into a frenzy this autumn by announcing ‘Voyage’, the long awaited follow-up to 1981's 'The Visitors', which came out in November. Before Adele’s ‘30’ dropped, it was the fastest selling album of 2021. Not bad after 40 years out of the game, right!?
The Swedish pop stars also shocked everyone with the announcement of the ABBA Voyage concert series, which will see their avatars accompanied by a 10-piece live band at a custom-built arena at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, London for multiple showings from May to Decemer 2022.
Dancing queens everywhere took a rest from cutting a rug to search for tickets, 418, 193 times to be exact. Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!
October 2020 saw the release of ’Live Around The World’, the debut live album from Queen and Adam Lambert. The record served as a great consolation for those who were due to see the legendary band and powerhouse vocalist live last summer.
They were forced to reschedule the UK and European leg of The Rhapsody Tour to 2021 due to COVID-19, and have again had to move it to 2022 due to ongoing concerns surrounding the pandemic and travel restrictions.
Queen and Lambert fans are committed, though, and delays have not deterred them from searching for tickets an incredible 366, 377 times. They will rock you...eventually!
Despite the COVID-19 pitfalls faced by all artists this year, Foo Fighters managed to make the most of an extremely unpredictable 12 months. They released their new album, ‘Medicine at Midnight’, announced a comedy-horror film called Studio 666 (out on February 25), and confirmed North American, European and UK shows for next summer.
The latter leg includes stops at Emirates Old Trafford on June 25, Villa Park on June 27, and London Stadium (fka London Stadium Olympic Park) on June 30 and July 2, marking the rockers’ first UK gigs since they headlined Reading and Leeds in 2019.
Times like these are tough, but it’s clear plenty of you are looking forward to Foos returning to the stage, with over a third of a million of you searching for their tour dates in 2021.
Ricky Gervais is the only non-musical act to grace the top 10 of Stereoboard's Top Tickets Of 2021, and that speaks volumes. The stand-up comedian, actor, writer and director from Reading was finally able to hit the road for his SuperNature Tour, which he's been warming up for since 2019.
The latest UK leg of the tour included six London dates, three of which were at the iconic Palladium and two at one of the capital’s biggest venues, SSE Arena Wembley.
Lots of you were looking for laughs this year, and 328, 177 searched for Gervais to deliver them.
He hit number five on our 2019 chart thanks to his FarewellYellow Brick Road Tour, and Elton John is still in the top 10 two years later thanks to extending and rebilling it as Farewell Yellow Brick Road: The Final Tour.
The trek has new and rescheduled dates lined up in the UK and Ireland, mainland Europe, North America, and New Zealand throughout 2022 and 2023. With so many shows on the horizon, it’s no surprise that 318, 775 of you were eager for tickets.
Can’t wait until then? Check out the legendary singer-songwriter’s star-studded new record, 'The Lockdown Sessions', which came out back in October and boasts collaborations with Miley Cyrus, Eddie Vedder, Lil Nas X, Charlie Puth, Gorillaz, Stevie Wonder, Stevie Nicks, Young Thug, and Nicki Minaj.
We looked at what fans were searching for on Google and we’ve crunched the numbers from our Google Ads account to bring you the definitive list of the hottest tickets sought in 2021.
We did this by analysing Stereoboard’s impression share, from millions of search queries, and extrapolated that data. That enabled us to estimate, to a high degree of accuracy, the total number of fans searching for ticket related terms on Google’s search engine for each artists’ UK tour throughout the past 12 months.
NOTE FROM THE EDITOR
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