Rocket Man: Elton John's farewell shows have taken him to the very top of touring pop

2/2/23 7:00PM

Music to Elton’s ears

‍‍Elton John’s Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour, his last outing before retirement, has become the highest-grossing tour of all time, taking a total of $818m according to new figures from Billboard. That haul surpasses the previous record of $776m held by Ed Sheeran for his Divide tour.

However, even after 5 years and 278 shows, the Rocket Man is not done yet — with 51 more European dates and a final sign-off performance headlining the iconic Glastonbury festival to come. Despite that longevity, it’s unlikely John will beat Sheeran's record of most tickets sold on a single tour, as the Divide Tour delighted some 8.9mSheerios (roughly equivalent to the entire population of New York City).

‍Still standing

‍The tour hasn't been without its challenges, though. Initially commencing in 2018, Elton's tour has had to navigate the pandemic, his hip surgery and then his battle with Covid in January last year. Still the show went on, meaning that Elton will have now performed 1,573 shows dating back to 1986, grossing in excess of $1.8bn — the highest-grossing touring solo artist of all time.

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It’s finally Oscars week — and with voting officially closed, all that’s left to do is count the ballots and wait to see who wins this Sunday night.

This year, the acting categories have been the most interesting to watch, especially the showdown between “Marty Supreme” star Timothée Chalamet and “Sinners” actor Michael B. Jordan for Best Actor. While Chalamet was long the favorite, Jordan has caught up and overtaken him after winning the Actor Award.

(Event contracts are offered through Robinhood Derivatives, LLC — probabilities referenced or sourced from KalshiEx LLC or ForecastEx LLC.)

But perhaps the most exciting race of all is for Best Picture. Out of the 10 nominees, the two at the top are Paul Thomas Anderson’s “One Battle After Another” and Ryan Coogler’s “Sinners,” both of which are studio releases from Warner Bros. Discovery.

Which will win the top prize seems to be split among award pundits and experts. As of Monday afternoon, Gold Derby still has “One Battle After Another” as the front-runner with odds of 76.87%. AwardsWatch, AwardsRadar, and Numlock Awards are also still predicting that “One Battle After Another” will take the statue for Best Picture.

On the other side, reporters from some major trade publications like Variety’s Clayton Davis and The Hollywood Reporter’s Scott Feinberg predict that “Sinners” will take the top honor.

Odds in the prediction markets currently show that “One Battle After Another” is still ahead of “Sinners,” with the former priced in at 75% while the latter is priced at 23%.

Rocket Man: Elton John's farewell shows have taken him to the very top of touring pop

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