The Part of Me Tour is coming to an end but not before making its mark on Billboard’s Top Tours and Artists charts.
The tour, which was based in North America but also featured shows in Europe and Australasia, grossed an incredible $125 million in 2018, making it the third-highest-grossing tour of all time. It was the highest-grossing female-led tour of all time, too.
The Part of Me tour has been so successful that Billboard has officially named it one of the Top 10 Tours of All Time. According to the publication, the tour beat out other high-profile concert series including One Night Only and Ed Sheeran’s ÷ (Divides):
- Lady Gaga’s 2019 Little Monsters tour
- Taylor Swift’s Reputation Stadium tour
- Ed Sheeran’s Divide world tour
- Black Eyed Peas’ The Level UneXtended tour
- One Night Only tour
- Taylor Swift’s Reputation stadium tour (tie)
- Katy Perry’s Part of Me tour
The Part of Me tour has also made its mark on the Top Artists chart, where it stands as the number-one-selling album of all time. It’s Perry’s fifth album and the soundtrack to her hugely successful film, Katy Perry: Part of Me.
After a year on top, Katy Perry’s Part of Me is now sitting at the number-three spot on Billboard’s top album chart. It marks Perry’s sixth consecutive top-three album on the Billboard Top Albums chart.
With over 850 million copies sold worldwide, Katy Perry stands as one of the most popular and successful singers of all time. Let’s take a quick trip down memory lane to revisit some of her most memorable moments.
Katy Perry’s Best Tour
At the end of last year, Billboard ranked the Top 50 Tours of All Time. Katy Perry’s 2019 tour is the highest-ranking album on the list, just behind U2’s 2016 Experience + Innocence Tour.
Perry started her 2019 North American leg of the Part of Me Tour on January 24 in Vancouver, British Columbia, and wrapped up in San Francisco on February 28. Aside from North America, the singer also performed in Europe and Australasia. She capped off the yearlong trek with two shows in London on December 31 and New Year’s Eve.
The tour attracted large audiences and high sales, with over 1.5 million tickets sold for the December 29 show in Nashville and an overall attendance of 730,000. The tour was so successful that Billboard ranks it as the third-highest-grossing tour of all time (behind only U2’s 2016 Experience + Innocence Tour and Taylor Swift’s Reputation Stadium Tour).
The Part of Me tour is Katy Perry’s fifth-highest-grossing tour ever, and the last stop on her calendar before taking a break to focus on her acting career. According to Billboard, the tour is the best-selling in North America, South America, Canada, and Europe, and the number-two-best-selling tour in Asia.
The Meaning of ‘Part of Me’
On the heels of her global smash hit, “Roar,” comes the follow-up single, “Part of Me.”
“Part of Me” is one of those rare tracks that perfectly encapsulate the hearts of all its listeners, myself included. The song is about coming to terms with who you are and accepting all parts of yourself, good and bad, as you navigate your way through this world. It’s an incredible gift, both musically and philosophically, for which Katy Perry is quite simply, my heroine.
As the song opens, we’re faced with a barrage of bombast – the piano thunders and the brass swells – before Perry’s glorious voice cuts through like a knife.
The song’s chorus, a call-and-response involving the audience joining in with Perry, is what makes the song special. We all know the power of a great pop song when there’s no chorus, but here, in all its glory, is a perfect example of how an unadorned but perfectly formed pop melody can so clearly embody a message.
For anyone who’s ever felt like an outcast or a misfit, “Part of Me” is pretty much a soundtrack to your listening experience. The song is honest, it’s raw, and it exudes an unapologetic individuality that sometimes gets lost in the shuffle. Just like the rest of Katy Perry’s music, “Part of Me” is, at its core, an unapologetic celebration of the female form.
Here we go, then:
An Incredibly Accurate Portrait of Katy Perry
If you thought that Taylor Swift’s Reputation Tour was an incredible feat of artistic and commercial synchronization, then prepare to have your mind blown. According to backstage passes obtained by The New York Times, Katy Perry’s 2019 leg of the tour is equally as great, if not greater, than Taylor Swift’s iconic tour.
Not only do Katy Perry’s dancers wear identical black leotards with silver trim, but her stage production is virtually identical to Swift’s. The set, the lighting, the costumes, the drum line, the backup singers – it’s all there, and it’s all absolutely perfect.
The only real difference is in the songs. While Taylor Swift’s songs are famous for being fierce female protectors – from “Blank Space” to “You Need to Calm Down” – the songs on Katy Perry’s tour are about celebrating women.
Katy Perry wrote all the songs on her tour, and she worked with an incredibly talented group of producers and songwriters, including John Congleton, Benny Blanco, Nathan Chapman, and more. It’s also worth noting that Perry received a co-composer credit for “Part of Me” as well as “Roar.”
Perry’s 2019 leg of the tour, which was officially named the Sweetheart Collection Tour, kicked off on January 24 in Vancouver, British Columbia, and will wrap up on February 28 in San Francisco. It is the singer’s fifth-highest-grossing tour ever, and it earned her the number-two spot on Billboard’s Top 2020 Tours chart.
Aside from North America, the singer also performed in Europe and Australasia. She capped off the yearlong trek with two shows in London on December 31 and New Year’s Eve.
The Musicians Who Help Shape Katy Perry’s Music
Although “Part of Me” is a solo single, it wouldn’t be accurate to say that Katy Perry wrote the song all by herself. The singer has collaborated with some incredible musicians and songwriters on her various studio albums, and it shows in the way that the songs always sound the same no matter which musicians and studios she worked with – her music is her identity, and she’s built an incredible team of people who help her express herself through song.
Here’s a partial list of the people who helped shape Katy Perry’s music:
Musicians
As mentioned above, “Part of Me” is a song that was written and produced by Katy Perry herself. But the track also benefited from the talents of some incredible musicians who helped bring the song to life.
Aside from Perry, the song features backing vocals by Mark McGrath and Tori Kelly, and strings by the Utah Symphony. The track wouldn’t be complete without its brass section – the rhythm section of the orchestra – whose thunderous grooves and infectious energy perfectly match the song’s theme of acceptance.
Other collaborations include Katy Perry’s biggest hit to date, “Roar,” which she co-wrote with Andrew Wyatt and Liz Rodrigues. “Roar” features a massive orchestra and a choir, both of which were conducted by Wyatt. The song was produced by Perry and Max Martin, and it was the second song from Perry’s album, Witness (2018).
Other notable tracks that feature live musicians include “Dark Horse,” “Peacock,” and “Swish” (which was co-produced by Ryan Tedder and Noel Zancanella).