Las Vegas Strip performer residencies are essential to the entertainment offerings in Sin City. Some star headliner residencies generate excitement among fans that can lead to almost instant sellouts of every show in the engagement. And others may generate high interest when a performer reveals that they are ending their engagement.
A clear example of a recent enthusiastic sellout is the 25-show U2:UV Achtung Baby Live At Sphere residency at Sphere Entertainment's (SPHR) -) 20,000-seat Sphere at the Venetian, the first five shows that went on sale were sold out on the April 27 presale date before tickets for the general public could go on sale April 28. The band continued adding and releasing more dates, which also quickly sold out.
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International pop star Kylie Minogue in July scheduled a 10-show residency at Apollo Global Management's APO The Venetian Las Vegas' cabaret-style nightclub Voltaire that was scheduled between Nov. 3 and Jan. 27.
Kylie Minogue residency has fast sellouts
An "overwhelming response" and a "system overload" on the Voltairelv.com website, as Minogue described it in an Aug. 14 Facebook post, resulted in 10,000 tickets, or 1,000 per show, selling out in about 4-1/2 hours Aug. 9. Wait times on the ticket website reportedly were as long as 3,359 hours. The website informed fans by 4 p.m. on the sale date that tickets had sold out.
Ticket broker StubHub on Aug. 17 listed tickets for the Nov. 3 opening night show at $4,500 each. Tickets for the second show on Nov. 4 were priced at $2,474. Original ticket prices were just $200 each.
The high demand for tickets for Minogue's residency led the singer to double the amount of shows in her residency at Voltaire, stretching the engagement into May 2024. The Australian star added 10 new shows between Dec. 15 and May 4, allowing fans to buy tickets to just the shows or book travel packages. General admission tickets were priced at $200, and tables for two started at $1,000 and rose from there.
History repeated itself in a more extreme manner as all 10,000 tickets for the second set of 10 shows sold out in about 30 minutes after going on sale. Voltaire and Minogue have not yet said whether more shows will be added.
But there might be a new rush to grab the last remaining tickets for another performer who, in this case, is ending a long-running residency.
Superstar R&B headliner Usher is ready to check out of his popular Usher: My Way The Vegas Residency at Dolby Live at Park MGM on the Strip after performing there since July 2022.
Usher's final shows scheduled
The "Yeah" singer on Aug. 17 revealed the final 12 shows of his residency on Nov. 3, 4, 7, 8, 10, 11, 22, 24, 25, 29 and Dec. 1-2. Tickets will go on sale to the general public on Ticketmaster.com on Aug. 25, 10 a.m., Pacific time with prices starting at $80.09, excluding taxes and fees. A presale is currently underway for Citi Cardmembers, Official Platinum and Official Fans that began Aug. 18 and ends Aug. 24. Live Nation, Ticketmaster and Media presales begin Aug. 21, also ending Aug. 24.
Usher has nine previously scheduled shows at Dolby Live on sale now for Oct. 11, 13, 14, 18, 20, 22, 25 and 29. Usher first staged a 20-show residency at Caesars Entertainment's (CZR) -) Colosseum at Caesars Palace in 2021 and 2022.
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