24K Magic World Tour


The 24K Magic World Tour was the fourth concert tour by American singer-songwriter Bruno Mars in support of his third studio album, 24K Magic. It ran from March 2017 to December 2018. Anderson Paak was the opening act for the first European leg, while Camila Cabello, Dua Lipa or Jorja Smith opened the shows during the first North American leg. In Latin America, DNCE, Bebe Rexha and Nick Jonas were the supporting acts, and in Oceania Lipa or DJ Leggo My Fueggo. The second European leg included appearances at several music festivals such as Pinkpop in the Netherlands and Rock in Rio in Portugal. It was also Mars' first tour to include a show in Africa, with him appearing at the Mawazine festival in Morocco.
In 2018, Mars announced another leg in North America, which was initially to feature Cardi B; however, she was replaced by Boyz II Men, Ciara, Ella Mai and Charlie Wilson since she wanted to raise her newborn baby. Apart from 24K Magic, the tour setlist further included songs from Mars' previous albums Doo-Wops & Hooligans and Unorthodox Jukebox, as well as the Mark Ronson collaboration on "Uptown Funk". The latter was often used for the encores alongside "Locked out of Heaven". Mars sang backed by an eight-piece band, The Hooligans, and performed choreography by him and Phil Tayag.
The 24K Magic World Tour received generally positive reviews from music critics, who praised Mars' showmanship, as well as his guitar solos and the stage production. Mars' shows attracted a wide-ranging audience of all age groups, and grossed over $367 million, making the 24K Magic World Tour a commercial success and one of the highest-grossing concert tours of all time. It won two Pollstar awards, two Billboard Music Awards and a TEC Award.

Background and production

The 24K Magic World Tour was officially announced on November 15, 2016, with 85 dates across Europe and North America. On November 22, 2016, 15 additional shows were added, bringing the total to 100. At that time, Live Nation, who produced the tour, reported that over one million tickets for the tour had been sold in a single day. Promotional trailers and behind-the-scenes footage of the tour were released through Live Nation on various official YouTube channels as additional promotion in various markets including Germany and Hong Kong. Mars and Phil Tayag of the hip-hop dance crew Jabbawockeez choreographed the tour, while the production and lighting design were handled by LeRoy Bennett who had already worked with Mars on his Moonshine Jungle Tour. On May 2, 2017, Mars partnered with Heineken to sell tickets to his US leg shows in selected cities. Fans were able to obtain tickets by donating $150 to Heineken's Cities Project, which was meant to improve US cities, via the Indiegogo crowdfunding platform. The South American leg was sponsored by Banco do Brasil and Budweiser, with Hospital Sancta Maggiore serving as the official supplier. Pepsi was the official soft drink partner during the Asian leg of the tour in China, Bangkok, the Philippines, Singapore and Malaysia.
According to Front of House engineer Chris Rabold, Mars had a say in every aspect of the tour's shows, which he envisioned to look like "the biggest party ". Rehearsals for the 24K Magic World Tour commenced at Center Staging in Burbank in the summer of 2016. They solely featured The Hooligans as performers, assisted by monitor engineer Ramon Morales who mixed the monitors for Mars. The aforementioned then moved into the Rock Lititz rehearsal facility to complete further work on the tour's production in the span of a few weeks. Equipment made by Clair Global, the tour's official audio provider, was used. Rabold and Morales used two DiGiCo SD7 mixing consoles and monitors for the tour's production. The Hooligans ultilized Sennheiser 9000 series mics, while Mars a Sennheiser 5235. Shure, Telefunken and Mojave mics were used for the drums, while the guitars had AT4050s, SM57s and Royer 122s mics. The horns utilized DPA 4099s, the bass an Avalon U5 and the synth had both a Sennheiser 906s and a Beyer M88 mic.
Morales mostly used the DiGiCo's onboard effects, such as reverbs, delays, dynamic EQ and compressor on the inputs. He also chose an Avalon 737 for Mars' vocals, as well as a Brascati M7 reverb and TC system 6000. The public address system utilized on the tour is Clair's Cohesion system. In terms of lights, lighting designer Cory FitzGerald and production designer LeRoy Bennett used the Philips VL6000 Beam and VL4000 BeamWash fixtures for the tour. These provided a retro-style appearance that was meant to aid to the shows' 90s-theme and blend with the more contemporary-looking classic Par Cans, bright colors and textures. The VL4000 BeamWash features provided backlight and sidelight along with bright and bold effects. Around 214 Solaris Flares were used in pixel mode, including the wash features and the strobe lights.

Concert synopsis

Shows during the first leg of the tour in Europe opened with Anderson Paak, who drummed and sang simultaneously. The shows in North America had either Camila Cabello, Dua Lipa or Jorja Smith as the opening acts, except for the first two shows, which featured Jabbawockeez. On November 18, 2017, the Latin American leg of the tour began with DNCE and ended with Bebe Rexha and Nick Jonas. Initially, all concerts in Oceania were scheduled to be opened by Lipa, however, the latter cancelled four due to dental issues and was subsequently replaced by DJ Leggo My Fueggo. During the second European and North American legs of the tour, Mars had several opening acts, including DJ Rashida at every show. Charlie Wilson, Ciara and Boyz II Men, among others, appeared on selected occasions, replacing Cardi B on the North American leg as she wanted to raise her newborn baby. For all shows, a giant black curtain was used to introduce Mars' band, The Hooligans, followed by words appearing on side screens, asking if everyone was ready to "get hot and sweaty".
"Finesse" opened the set with colorful pulsing tower panels used in the background. During the performance of the follow-up song, "24K Magic", which led to the audience cheering and dancing, the tower panels changed colors and were complemented by fireworks. At this point, Mars would take a moment to shout, "We have been waiting a long time to come back ... We gonna have some fun tonight!", before continuing dancing to "Treasure" and "Perm". During the latter song, Mars invited his fans to take pictures of him and The Hooligans, briefly stopping the show. "Calling All My Lovelies", the next track on the setlist, showed Mars playing his guitar in a tribute to Prince, with the singer pretending to call his lover on a "Zack Morris-style phone", but she never picks up. This was followed by the "racier" "Chunky" and "That's What I Like", on which critics thought Mars and his band sounded like Boyz II Men. The singer "turned up the sexual energy" with "Straight Up & Down", which featured a "risqué" subject matter, but was deliverey in a "family friendly and inoffensive" way.
The setlist continued with "Versace on the Floor", during which Mars was lifted on a platform with golden lighting and purple beacons. The next number, "Marry You", had Mars and The Hooligans performing a "soft-shoe" dance, while the former played guitar. On the subsequent "Runaway Baby", Mars and his band showcased "pelvic" dance moves that critics compared to Elvis Presley, and a breakdown similar to James Brown's work. During the song, the lights dimmed, with only a bass solo being played. Afterwards, a modified routine of The Isley Brothers' "Shout" had Mars dropping to the floor, then emerging from it with a roar. Later on, the stage was left to him and two keyboard players for the piano ballad "When I Was Your Man". A piano solo led up to fellow ballad "Grenade", which was given a rock interpretation by Mars playing his guitar. Shots of fireballs were featured during the song.
The next song on the 2017 setlist was the ballad "Just the Way You Are", which was performed before the encore. For the latter, they returned to perform two more tracks. The first, "Locked Out of Heaven", was aided by golden confetti being poured down on the audience. The closing "Uptown Funk" utilized fireworks and smoke, which prompted faux-firemen to appear and use fire extinguishers to put them out. Throughout the tour, various modified setlists were used. "Too Good to Say Goodbye" was only performed twice, in Madrid and Antwerp, as the closing track. "Talking to the Moon" was performed once, as an encore, in São Paulo. In some shows, "Grenade" was replaced by "Gorilla" or by a mash-up of "Nothin' on You" with "It Will Rain".

Critical response

Selected shows of the tour received generally positive reviews from critics, with them commending Mars' showmanship, his guitar skills and the stage production. Caroline Sullivan of The Guardian rated a show four stars out of five, saying: "It says something about his performance ethic that even during the formation dances he's clearly not miming – most pop singers do while dancing." Sullivan added that most of the concert "comes from a wellspring of perspiration, musical education and at least a little inspiration." The Washington Post Briana Younger called Mars a "once-in-a-generation artist. A master of his craft and consummate performer". Jesse Sendejas Jr., writing for the Houston Press, said that Mars and his band "came to entertain and did that astonishingly well", in a show which, according to her, attracted a wide-ranging audience of all age groups and cultures. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazettes Scott Mervis lauded Mars' "silky voice" and his Michael Jackson-esque dance skills, "to which he adds a comic touch". Mervis concluded, "If , Prince and James Brown are the 24K gold standard for what he's trying to do, Mars is well on his way toward that karat." Tammy Kwan of The Georgia Straight called Mars and The Hoolligans' performance "stellar", noting its "synchronized dancing and dazzling stage effects". Kwan resumed by adding, "This concert was one for the books." The Musics Madelyn Tait praised a concert, writing: "Mars was able to leave a diverse, all-ages crowd satisfied with his funk and soul-infused pop and proved how capable he is of putting on a fun, entertaining arena show." Leticia Madrigal of The Clovis Roundup lauded Mars "do more than enough entertaining through his choreographed performance with his band and with his unmissable radio hits". Various critics found the performance of "When I Was Your Man" to be the highlight in the specific performances they commented on.
Mikael Wood of the Los Angeles Times believed there were some "less polished moments", but opined they were not accidental. Wood continued, saying that Mars had "gotten so good onstage that he's begun looking for a thrill beyond perfection." He concluded, "the impression Mars gave was of an artist eager to put some wrinkles into the gleaming surfaces for which he's known." Neil McCormick of The Telegraph gave a concert four out of five stars. He praised the choreography and the vocal harmonies, which he felt were inspired by Prince's "supernatural gifts", James Brown's "physical command", and Marvin Gaye's "smooth vocal flexibility". However, he did not enjoy the band's "mustard and white baseball" outfits, saying they made them look like "servers at a fast-food chain".
In a mixed review, Luís Guerra from Blitz lauded one of the shows for its variety of genres, but felt that Mars performed romantic songs inadequately. RNZ's Ellen Falconer commended Mars' showmanship, saying he put on a "hell of a show" and calling him one of the best performers of his generation. Nevertheless, she found him "over-polished" and felt that "his own personality gets lost amongst nostalgic references." Roisin O'Connor of The Independent gave a concert three stars out of five, feeling that songs like "Marry You" or "The Lazy Song" sounded "dated" when compared to those on 24K Magic. She concluded, saying that "all the ingredients for a spectacular show are there, yet a stellar performance doesn't seem to reach the far corners of the arena".

Accolades

Commercial performance

According to an October 2017 Billboard article, the tour had sold 659,190 tickets at 42 concerts in 32 cities in North America, and earned $76 million in revenue there. This encompassed three sold-out shows at United Center in Chicago, which moved $6.3 million. Furthermore, concerts at O2 Arena in London earned $6.6 million. In early 2018, it was reported that 408,443 tickets had been sold for the ten shows Mars performed in Latin America, bringing in $37.4 million. In Asia, 14 shows had been sold out in seven cities, while in Japan, the tour grossed $15.5 million from four shows at Saitama Super Arena. In Australia, the 24K Magic World Tour with its five shows at Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney, brought in $9.2 million. Mars broke Beyoncé's New Zealand concert attendance record in May 2017, surpassing her 44,596 ticket sales with 48,783 tickets sold for four sold-out concerts at Spark Arena in Auckland. In 2018, Mars sold out the three shows booked for the Aloha Stadium in Hawaii, breaking the record attendance of both U2 and Michael Jackson, who performed two nights for 50,000 people.
In 2017, StubHub ranked Mars as the biggest-touring act of the year in the United States, having sold more tickets than any other artists. The 24K Magic World Tour's total gross as of October 2017 was $129 million, which extended to $200 million as of January 2018 with over two million tickets sold. The 24K Magic World Tour was the fourth highest-grossing tour of 2018 with $237.8 million according to Billboard. Over a span of two years, the 24K Magic World Tour was reported to have grossed over $367,7 million. It is among the highest-grossing concert tours of all time. For Mars' November 8, 2018, concert in Hawaii, widespread ticket reselling activities occurred, with bots being used to buy thousands of tickets. A similliar phenomenon happened on his second show in the territory.

Setlist

Notes
Date
CityCountryVenueOpening actAttendance
Revenue
February 27AucklandNew ZealandSpark ArenaDua
Lipa		48,785 / 48,785$5,261,050
February 28AucklandNew ZealandSpark ArenaDua
Lipa		48,785 / 48,785$5,261,050
March 2AucklandNew ZealandSpark ArenaDua
Lipa		48,785 / 48,785$5,261,050
March 3AucklandNew ZealandSpark ArenaDua
Lipa		48,785 / 48,785$5,261,050
March 7MelbourneAustraliaRod Laver ArenaDua
Lipa		57,842 / 57,842$6,560,280
March 8MelbourneAustraliaRod Laver ArenaDua
Lipa		57,842 / 57,842$6,560,280
March 10MelbourneAustraliaRod Laver ArenaDua
Lipa		57,842 / 57,842$6,560,280
March 11MelbourneAustraliaRod Laver ArenaDua
Lipa		57,842 / 57,842$6,560,280
March 14BrisbaneAustraliaBrisbane Entertainment CentreDJ Leggo
My Fueggo		27,094 / 27,094$3,058,400
March 15BrisbaneAustraliaBrisbane Entertainment CentreDJ Leggo
My Fueggo		27,094 / 27,094$3,058,400
March 17SydneyAustraliaQudos Bank ArenaDJ Leggo
My Fueggo		88,592 / 88,592$9,217,950
March 18SydneyAustraliaQudos Bank ArenaDJ Leggo
My Fueggo		88,592 / 88,592$9,217,950
March 20SydneyAustraliaQudos Bank ArenaDua
Lipa		88,592 / 88,592$9,217,950
March 23SydneyAustraliaQudos Bank ArenaDua
Lipa		88,592 / 88,592$9,217,950
March 24SydneyAustraliaQudos Bank ArenaDua
Lipa		88,592 / 88,592$9,217,950
March 26AdelaideAustraliaAdelaide Entertainment CentreDua
Lipa		9,930 / 9,930$1,020,470
March 28PerthAustraliaPerth ArenaDua
Lipa		29,434 / 29,434$3,436,710
March 29PerthAustraliaPerth ArenaDua
Lipa		29,434 / 29,434$3,436,710

Date
CityCountryVenueOpening actAttendance
Revenue
June 16WerchterBelgiumFestivalpark WerchterDJ Rashida
Lil' Kleine		rowspan="13" rowspan="13"
June 17LangraafNetherlandsMegaland LandgraafDJ Rashida--
June 20BarcelonaSpainEstadi Olímpic Lluís CompanysDJ Rashida
DNCE		--
June 22MadridSpainWanda MetropolitanoDJ Rashida
DNCE		--
June 24LisbonPortugalParque da Bela VistaDJ Rashida
Demi Lovato
Anitta
Agir		--
June 27RabatMoroccoOLM SouissiDJ Rashida--
June 30Saint-DenisFranceStade de FranceDJ Rashida
DNCE		--
July 3BergenNorwayBergenhus FortressDJ Rashida--
July 5RoskildeDenmarkRoskilde FestivalDJ Rashida--
July 7GdyniaPolandGdynia-Kosakowo AirportDJ Rashida--
July 10GlasgowScotlandGlasgow GreenDJ Rashida
Dua Lipa
Average White Band
DNCE		--
July 12DublinIrelandMarlay ParkSister Sledge
DJ Rashida
DNCE		--
July 14LondonEnglandHyde ParkKhalid
DNCE
Charlie Wilson
Alex Hepburn
DJ Rashida		--

Date
CityCountryVenueReason
July 2DüsseldorfGermanyEsprit ArenaLogistical problems

Personnel

The Hooligans
Management
Sound and monitor production
Stage production