Yes, you read that headline correctly. Lionel Richie has announced the continuation of his “All the Hits Tour” with “Very Special Guest” Mariah Carey.
Historically, Carey has been the bigger artist. Carey has 25 top ten singles, 18 of which went to number 1. Mariah needs just one more week at number 1 to pass Elvis Presley and become the artist who has been at the top of the charts for the most weeks.
On the other hand, Richie, between his days with the Commodores and solo, has 22 top tens and 7 number ones.
The billing, though, might have been set based on current career trajectories. Richie has been riding a wave of nostalgia that started in 2012 with his huge album Tuskeegee and includes his major appearance at the 2015 Glastonbury festival.
Carey, on the other hand, has had quite a dip in her career. After eleven straight years of at least one number 1 single, she hasn’t hit the top since 2008 and, on the albums side, her last two sets (Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel (2009) and Me. I Am Mariah…The Elusive Chanteuse (2014)) have only sold around 700,000 copies combined when every one of her previous albums were multi-platinum.
Still, with 57 top tens and 25 number ones between them, there’s going to be a pretty tremendous evening of music, no matter who opens and who headlines.
The tour opens March 15 in Baltimore and ends May 27 in Sunrise, FL. The AT&T presale starts December 13 at 10 AM, Citi cardholders can buy tickets starting December 15 at 10 AM and general sales begin December 17.
The dates:
03/15 – Baltimore, MD – Royal Farms Arena
03/17 – Newark, NJ – Prudential Center
03/18 – Philadelphia, PA – Wells Fargo Center
03/21 – Pittsburgh, PA – PPG Paints Arena
03/24 – Saint Paul, MN – Xcel Energy Center
03/25 – Chicago, IL – United Center
03/28 – Grand Rapids, MI – Van Andel Arena
03/30 – Toronto, ON – Air Canada Centre
04/01 – New York, NY – Madison Square Garden Arena
04/05 – Cleveland, OH – Quicken Loans Arena
04/07 – Boston, MA – TD Garden
04/08 – Uniondale, NY – Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum
04/11 – Auburn Hills, MI – The Palace Of Auburn Hills
04/14 – Columbus, OH – Schottenstein Center
04/16 – Kansas City, MO – Sprint Center
04/18 – St. Louis, MO – Scottrade Center
04/21 – Tulsa, OK – BOK Center
04/23 – Denver, CO – Pepsi Center
04/25 – Salt Lake City, UT – Vivint Smart Home Arena
04/27 – Vancouver, BC – Rogers Arena
04/28 – Seattle, WA – KeyArena At Seattle Center
04/30 – Oakland, CA – Oracle Arena
05/02 – Sacramento, CA – Golden 1 Center
05/05 – Los Angeles, CA – Hollywood Bowl
05/06 – Los Angeles, CA – Hollywood Bowl
05/08 – San Diego, CA – Viejas Arena
05/10 – Anaheim, CA – Honda Center
05/13 – Houston, TX – Toyota Center
05/15 – Dallas, TX – American Airlines Center
05/18 – New Orleans, LA – Smoothie King Center
05/20 – Nashville, TN – Bridgestone Arena
05/21 – Charlotte, NC – Spectrum Center
05/24 – Atlanta, GA – Philips Arena
05/26 – Tampa, FL – Amalie Arena
05/27 – Sunrise, FL – BB&T Center
