While many recording artists tour globally to reach their audiences, a select group has successfully reversed this dynamic by staging extravagant productions in single cities that draw massive crowds. According to Billboard Boxscore, these residencies have generated unprecedented revenue, with the majority taking place in Las Vegas, which has become a second home for major musical acts. However, recent years have seen a shift toward arena-sized residencies, including sold-out runs at the Sphere, Billy Joel's decade-long tenure at Madison Square Garden, and Celine Dion's move to Paris' Plenitude Arena.
To compile this list, Billboard established specific criteria: only shows reported to Boxscore with a minimum of 10 performances at a single venue were included. Productions must have unique names, setlists, and productions, excluding mini-residencies that are part of larger world tours, such as Harry Styles' runs at MSG or Shakira's recent Madrid stint. However, residencies interrupted by other tours, like Bruno Mars' Park MGM run, remain eligible. Only the home-venue shows count toward totals for productions that occasionally travel to other locations.
Celine Dion holds the top two spots on the list with her historic Las Vegas runs. Her residency "A New Day..." (2003-07) at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace generated $385.1 million from 714 shows and 2.8 million tickets sold. Her second entry, "Celine" (2011-19), also at The Colosseum, grossed $296.2 million across 427 shows with 1.7 million tickets. Following Dion are the Eagles' ongoing "Sphere Las Vegas" residency, which has earned $288.9 million from 60 shows and 981,000 tickets, and Billy Joel's "Billy Joel at The Garden" (2014-24) in New York City, which grossed $266.8 million over 104 performances with 1.9 million attendees.
The list features a diverse range of artists and venues, including U2's "UV Achtung Baby Live at Sphere," which generated $244.5 million from 40 shows, and Dead & Company's "Dead Forever Residency" at the Sphere, earning $198.9 million across 48 performances. Bruno Mars' long-running residency at Park MGM (2016-25) grossed $197.2 million from just 10 reported shows in this specific count, while Elton John's "The Red Piano" (2004-09) brought in $166.4 million over 247 shows. Other notable entries include Backstreet Boys' "Into the Millennium" at the Sphere ($156.4M), Britney Spears' "Piece of Me" ($137.7M), and Garth Brooks' "Garth Brooks/Plus ONE" ($137.7M).
Further down the rankings are Elton John's "The Million Dollar Piano" ($131.2M), Celine Dion's current Paris residency "Celine Dion Paris" ($125.5M), and Lady Gaga's combined "Enigma + Jazz & Piano" run ($110M). Jennifer Lopez's "All I Have" grossed $101.9 million, while Cher's 2008-11 residency earned $97.4 million. The list also includes George Strait ($90.4M), Rod Stewart ($86.8M), Usher ($83.6M), Kenny Chesney ($81M), Bette Midler ($71.8M), Aerosmith ($58.4M), No Doubt ($56.5M), Silk Sonic ($50.4M), and Katy Perry's "Play" residency, which grossed $46.4 million from 80 shows.
Sources: Billboard.