Burna Boy, a.k.a. Damini Ogulu, was the first Nigerian musician to headline a sold-out show at Madison Square Garden in New York, grossing over N3 billion in ticket sales alone. Tickets were available for purchase.
They sold for as little as $80 and as much as $2,125, with an average of $350. Using average sales of N145,365.50 ($350) multiplied by the total available capacity for a music concert in the arena of 20,781 and the current exchange rate of N415.33, the figure totals $7,276,150, costing over N3,022,003,379.50.
The historic 2-hour concert, titled "One Night in Space," was also aired live on YouTube, attracting over 81,000 people from Nigeria, the United Kingdom, Australia, and other nations.
Burna Boy entered the event wearing a black designer jacket and matching black slacks before changing into several imaginative outfits as he performed songs from his albums, African Giant and Twice as Tall.
He stated on his Twitter account, "The trip to New York has been a blessing. In 2017, we performed at the PlayStation Theatre; in 2018, at the Gramercy Theatre; in 2019, at the Apollo; and in 2022, we will perform at Madison Square Garden. Thank you for sticking with me all these years on this incredible adventure, New York. Damini, I love you. "
So far, the event has had an impact on Afrobeats culture, with Twitter releasing the #AfricaToTheWorld hashmoji to highlight African influence and voices that have an impact on their community.
On the list of artists who have sold out the world's most famous arena, Burna Boy joins Michael Jackson, Elvis Presley, The Beatles, Adele, Rihanna, Jay-Z, Justin Bieber, and Mariah Carey.
The Afro-Fusion musician has headlined shows in Amsterdam, Dublin, Manchester, and Rotterdam so far this year, with more to come in Atlanta.