NEWS
The "Grand National" tour from Kendrick Lamar, his former TDE partner SZA, and star West Coast producer Mustard has brought a lot of opportunities for fan engagement. Whether that's a Not Beauty pop-up or a crowd of over 40,000 fans, this trek kicked off on a great note.
As caught by NFR Podcast and others on Twitter, their concert in Houston on Wednesday (April 23) reportedly became the highest-grossing hip-hop show in history. It reportedly garnered $9.44 million. Their "Grand National" opening in Minneapolis just last week was the previous record holder according to Touring Data, becoming the first rap show to gross over $9 million. Before that, Eminem held the record, which he set at a 2019 concert in Melbourne.
This is a staggering achievement for a tour with only two shows under its belt at press time. The Minneapolis show opened the "Grand National" trek in... well, grand fashion. New Kendrick Lamar verses and plenty of other surprises emerged, along with consistently impressive showings from SZA and Mustard's crowd control.
Of course, Kendrick Lamar added more shots for good measure. Some fans are already tired of all the Drake discourse, but both artists seem happy to keep things going. One is on the road and one is in court. But we've seen how this fueled standout recent moments like the PARTYNEXTDOOR collab album $ome $exy $ongs 4 U and pretty much everything K.Dot touches these days. Even if they aren't direct in their allusions and jabs, they know fans are smart enough to connect the dots. Or just, you know, ignore them and move on with their lives if they don't care.
Nevertheless, there are many more narrative offshoots from the "Grand National" tour's context that are much more positive. For example, one is Kendrick Lamar and SZA dominating Billboard with "luther." Their Minneapolis show matched with their ninth consecutive and total week at the number one spot on the Hot 100 chart.
What else will the "Grand National" tour offer? We have no idea, but whether there is consistency or surprise on the horizon, we can't wait to find out. We know at least one thing that will definitely come of this trek, and that's a whole lot of cash.
At the BTS concert in Tokyo on Friday (April 17), j-hope opened up to ARMY with heartbreaking news. His grandmother, who played a major role in raising him and had always been proud of his journey with the group, has passed away.
Speaking to the packed crowd at the Tokyo Dome, the K-pop star chose to be open with fans about what he was going through. “Honestly, this might be a bit of a heavy thing to share, but I really wanted to express how I’m feeling today,” he said, translated from Korean into English. “Right after we arrived in Japan, I got the news that my maternal grandmother, the one who raised me from when I was little, had passed away.”
“I felt completely stunned and did not really know how to process it at first, but being around the members, sitting down together for meals, and focusing on rehearsals helped me more than I thought it would,” j-hope went on. “My grandmother was always incredibly proud, not just of me but of all the members. She truly believed in what we do. So I feel like if she was watching from above today, she would have loved every second of it.”
He closed by thanking the audience for making his first performance after the loss feel meaningful and full of support.
BTS are currently touring in support of their new album ARIRANG, which has just earned a third week at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. Following three opening shows in Goyang, South Korea, the group is set to perform twice at the Tokyo Dome before heading abroad for the North American leg. Before the tour wraps in March next year, they will also visit Latin America, Europe, Australia, and several other regions across Asia.
On the same day as the first Tokyo concert, j-hope’s solo interview with Rolling Stone was released. During the conversation, he spoke about stepping into a leadership presence within the group. “I think that’s my role on the team,” he shared. “It just comes naturally. It feels strange to even call it a role, but I just try to handle things as they come and support the other members in any way I can.”
Additional reporting from Billboard Korea.
