Meek Mill was quick to say “I told you so” after The Weeknd broke Michael Jackson’s touring record last week for generating the most money as a Black artist.
The Philly native recently deleted his Twitter account, but not before shooting a flaming hot take into the cyberspace. In response to the Canadian singer surpassing MJ’s longstanding distinction, he claimed to have predicted the passing of the baton years ago.
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“I always thought the weekend was gone bigger than Micheal Jackson,” he tweeted. “I used to tell people in 2012 weekend hanging in the hood like Micheal Jackson out here with us lol congrats Abel.”
The Starboy singer has often cited Jackson as one of his greatest influences and he’s even been compared to the late King of Pop time and time again.
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The Weeknd celebrated the achievement by posting a video on Twitter on Wednesday (July 12) of him performing an emphatic cover of Jackson’s “Dirty Diana” during a recent tour stop.
“My king. then, now and forever,” The Weeknd captioned the clip, adding: “Rest easy.” Watch him pay tribute to his idol below.
my king. then, now and forever. 👑✨ rest easy pic.twitter.com/7y6tEyAyBB
— Abel Tesfaye (@theweeknd) July 12, 2023
According to Buzzing Pop, The Weeknd’s After Hours Til Dawn Tour has become the best-selling tour in history by a Black artist, with $350million in ticket sales.
MJ previously held the record with his Bad Tour in 1987, which grossed $311million (adjusted for inflation). The trek was assembled to his album of the same name and was the second highest-grossing tour of the ’80s behind Pink Floyd’s A Momentary Lapse of Reason Tour.
The After Hours Til Dawn Tour took The Weeknd across North America between July and November 2022, while its international leg began this past June in Lisbon, Portugal.
There are still a few months left on the massive 64-date series, which ends on October 25 in Guadalajara, Mexico. Kaytranada, Snoh Aalegra and Mike Dean have served as supporting acts after original opener Doja Cat was forced to pull out due to tonsil surgery.
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The Weeknd has a long way to go yet before he claims the record for the highest-grossing tour ever, which currently belongs to Elton John’s recently concluded Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour, which raked in a staggering $910million across 320 shows.
