In his second tour to Australia in just under a year, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band have raked in the big bucks yet again.
In closing out the final set of his 13-date Australian tour in support of his 18th LP High Hopes, Billboard Weekly Tour Charts reports that Springsteen has once again bossed ticket sales, raising his revenue bar to a staggering $26.7 million for the Down Under experience.
That’s more than he made in his blockbuster visit to Australia in April 2013, in support of his 17th LP, Wrecking Ball.
Having been well over a decade since the iconic superstar took to Australian shores, tickets for that 2013 tour sold out in a manic fashion, resulting in The Wrecking Ball Tour grossing an oh so healthy $25 million in ticket sales for The Boss and Frontier Touring.
With such blistering results, one could not be blamed for questioning whether it would be possible to cap the incredible feat for Springsteen’s 2014 return, especially in light of Australia’s floundering ticket market as music festivals reduce and fold. Evidently, for the man that was born to run, it was a walk in the park.
Springsteen’s $26.7 million figure eclipses any other tours for the week; the closest live performance sales figure crowned to Jay Z at $3.1 million followed by country lone star Brad Paisley at $2.2 million.
A diverse showman until the end, Springsteen added a touch of personalisation to every unforgettable set he delivered over his February/March annexation of Australia and New Zealand.
Introducing Melbourne’s Saturday night concert with Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder by his side, Springsteen and the grunge frontman howled through AC/DC’s classic ‘Highway To Hell’ to an electrified sea of excitement.
Sydney witnessed the re-injection of the again chart-topping INXS and their smash hit ‘Don’t Change’, Springsteen having an emphatic grip of what is continually trending, even when thousands of miles from his native home.
And so it goes, on his second final performance in Auckland, The Boss – with his finger forever pressed on the “what’s hot” button – performed an Americana rendition of Lorde’s ‘Royals’.
The solitary Springsteen stood boldly hovering over his acoustic guitar with his harmonica firmly wrapped around his neck as he seamlessly delivered the 2013 hit. The 64-year old once again exemplified why he is still on top of the game.
Playfully altering the lyrics to fit his own representation, Springsteen told “long ago I was the next big thing/now I’m in love with being king.”
It appears Lorde with her debut grand slam ‘Royals’ continues to fly the songstress from strength to strength, the youngster having been granted the very grandest of honours in Springsteen reinvigorating the 2013 hit.
However, now we’re left to question our loyalty to the royalty; is it Queen B or King B?
Watch Bruce Springsteen cover ‘Royals’ by Lorde in Auckland below and check out our coverage of Bruce Springsteen’s Melbourne show from Saturday 15th February: REVIEW | PHOTOS
