OMG Tour was the fourth concert tour by American recording artist Usher. Visiting North America, Asia, Europe and Australia, the tour accompanies his sixth studio album, Raymond v. Raymond (2010), as well as his first extended play, Versus (2010). At the conclusion of 2011, the tour placed seventh on Billboard's annual, "Top 25 Tours", earning nearly $75 million with 73 shows.
Background In the summer of 2010, Usher competed in a dance battle against fellow R&B artist Chris Brown at the Reggae Sumfest. The battle sparked an Internet rumor of the two possibly going on tour. This was further pushed by producer Jermaine Dupri alluding that the two artists may be unaware of this upcoming tour. The singers later took to Twitter to ask who the fans would like to see them perform with. On September 8, 2010, the singer announced his touring trek (and revealed it was solo) for North America. Due to demand, many additional stops in Europe and Australia were added. It is Usher's first arena tour since The Truth Tour in 2004. To introduce the tour, Usher stated, "Live performance has always been my thing. It's my purpose to master and capture the moment every time I have you connected. For me, I wanted to make sure that it was state of the art. I wanted to make sure that, in comparison to the other shows that are going on around the world, you get the type of experience that leave you saying, 'OMG.' [...] The look of the tour, it's a little futuristic but enough to capture your attention and leave you saying, 'OMG.' That's the whole point. With an incredible record, I wanted to also leave a great impression.
Concert synopsis The show began with Usher descending to the stage and then performing "Monstar", "She Don't Know" and "Yeah!" while wearing a helmet-like headpiece. During "Caught Up" he sang into a gold gun-shaped microphone, with which he performed tricks. The choreography of "More" included break dancing. While Usher sang "OMG", fireworks and confetti were set off.
Critical reception The Dallas Morning News Mario Tarradell enjoyed the show, writing that "splash and flash are[Usher's] key ingredients." Jim Harrington of San Jose Mercury News commended Usher's dancing ability, but criticized the show for over-using "distracting" theatrical effects, saying that "the best parts of the big-budget 'OMG' show came when the bells and whistles stopped and the fans were allowed to concentrate all their attention on Usher".
Broadcast and recordings The DVD of the OMG Tour was filmed on February 21, 2011, at The O2 Arena in London, directed by Dick Carruthers. The DVD was released as OMG Tour: Live From London on October 31, 2011.
Set list
"Monstar" "She Don't Know" "Yeah!" "U Remind Me" "U Don't Have to Call" Michael Jackson Tribute Medley: "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough"/ "Rock with You"/ "Billie Jean" "You Make Me Wanna" "Mars vs. Venus" "Nice & Slow" "Love 'Em All" "Trading Places" "Love in This Club" "Lil Freak" "Hot Tottie" "There Goes My Baby" "Burn" "Bad Girl" "Hey Daddy (Daddy's Home)" Medley: "Confessions Part II" / "My Boo" / "I Need a Girl (Part One)" / "Lovers and Friends" "Caught Up" "DJ Got Us Fallin' in Love" "More" Encore OMG
Source:
Tour dates + List of concerts, showing date, city, country, venue, opening act, tickets sold, number of available tickets and amount of gross revenue Date City Country Venue Opening act Attendance RevenueAsiaJuly 3, 2010SeoulSouth KoreaOlympic Gymnastics ArenaJuly 7, 2010Kuala LumpurMalaysiaBukit Jalil National StadiumJuly 9, 2010PasayPhilippinesMall of Asia Concert GroundsJuly 11, 2010BeijingChinaBeijing Wukesong Culture & Sports CenterJuly 13, 2010MacauVenetian ArenaNorth AmericaNorth America box score:November 10, 2010SeattleUnited StatesKeyArenaTrey SongzMiguel13,179 / 13,179$900,792November 12, 2010OaklandOracle Arena15,613 / 15,613$1,095,085November 13, 2010Las VegasMandalay Bay Events Center78,398 / 78,398$926,907November 14, 2010AnaheimHonda Center11,354 / 11,354$851,717November 17, 2010San DiegoValley View Casino Center10,218 / 10,218$655,930November 18, 2010Los AngelesStaples Center14,607 / 14,607$1,181,485November 19, 2010GlendaleJobing.com Arena11,086 / 11,086$818,907November 23, 2010HoustonToyota Center12,812 / 12,812$996,189November 24, 2010DallasAmerican Airlines Center13,492 / 13,492$937,622November 26, 2010St. LouisScottrade Center11,616 / 11,616$777,678November 27, 2010Kansas CitySprint Center14,291 / 14,291$963,888November 29, 2010TorontoCanadaAir Canada Centre16,100 / 16,100$1,291,800November 30, 2010MontrealBell Centre15,260 / 15,260$1,175,933December 2, 2010DetroitUnited StatesJoe Louis Arena15,860 / 15,860$1,037,999December 3, 2010RosemontAllstate Arena13,811 / 13,811$1,065,640December 5, 2010AtlantaPhilips Arena14,137 / 14,137$1,201,311December 7, 2010GreensboroGreensboro Coliseum8,612 / 8,612$519,616December 8, 2010BaltimoreRoyal Farms Arena11,104 / 11,104$795,628December 10, 2010NewarkPrudential Center14,410 / 14,410$1,142,535December 13, 2010New York CityMadison Square Garden29,462 / 29,462$2,567,864December 14, 2010December 16, 2010PhiladelphiaWells Fargo Center11,049 / 11,049$889,097December 17, 2010Washington, D.C.Verizon Center15,452 / 15,452$1,226,629December 18, 2010HartfordXL Center11,198 / 11,198$674,877December 21, 2010BostonTD Garden12,226 / 12,226$901,581December 27, 2010NashvilleBridgestone Arena12,219 / 12,219$888,709December 28, 2010New OrleansSmoothie King Center14,988 / 14,988$937,802December 29, 2010MemphisFedExForum11,350 / 11,350$743,770December 31, 2010MiamiAmerican Airlines Arena12,992 / 12,992$1,235,545EuropeEurope box score:January 18, 2011LyonFranceHalle Tony Garnierrowspan="5" rowspan="5" rowspan="5" January 20, 2011MarseilleLe Dôme de MarseilleJanuary 21, 2011ZürichSwitzerlandHallenstadionJanuary 23, 2011StrasbourgFranceZénith de StrasbourgJanuary 24, 2011Paris AccorHotels ArenaJanuary 26, 2011ManchesterEnglandManchester ArenaTinchy Stryder26,010 / 29,348$1,335,360January 27, 2011BirminghamBarclaycard Arenarowspan="3" rowspan="3" rowspan="3" January 29, 2011GlasgowScotlandScottish Exhibition and Conference CentreJanuary 30, 2011LiverpoolEnglandEcho Arena LiverpoolFebruary 2, 2011LondonThe O2 ArenaTinchy Stryder69,761 / 70,260$4,656,200February 3, 2011February 15, 2011ParisFranceAccorHotels ArenaFebruary 17, 2011LondonEnglandThe O2 ArenaTinchy StryderFebruary 18, 2011February 20, 2011ManchesterManchester ArenaFebruary 21, 2011LondonThe O2 ArenaFebruary 23, 2011SheffieldSheffield Arenarowspan="10" rowspan="5" rowspan="5" February 24, 2011LiverpoolEcho Arena LiverpoolFebruary 26, 2011DublinIreland3ArenaFebruary 27, 2011March 1, 2011RotterdamNetherlandsRotterdam AhoyMarch 2, 2011AntwerpBelgiumSportpaleis31,248 / 31,812$1,739,160March 4, 2011MunichGermanyOlympiahalleMarch 5, 2011HamburgBarclaycard Arena11,778 / 12,469$732,505March 6, 2011RotterdamNetherlandsRotterdam AhoyMarch 7, 2011AntwerpBelgiumSportpaleisAsiaMarch 10, 2011DubaiUnited Arab EmiratesDubai Media City Amphitheatrerowspan="2" rowspan="2" rowspan="2" March 12, 2011ShanghaiChinaMercedes-Benz ArenaOceaniaOceania box score:March 15, 2011PerthAustraliaBurswood DomeTrey SongzThe Potbelleez18,560 / 18,560$2,469,060March 18, 2011AdelaideAdelaide Entertainment Centre9,155 / 9,155$1,292,119March 19, 2011MelbourneRod Laver Arena62,075 / 62,075$7,544,120March 20, 2011March 22, 2011NewcastleNewcastle Entertainment Centre6,941 / 6,989$1,028,240March 23, 2011SydneyQudos Bank Arena55,792 / 60,148$7,530,500March 24, 2011March 26, 2011BrisbaneBrisbane Entertainment Centre11,482 / 11,482$1,681,740March 28, 2011SydneyQudos Bank ArenaMarch 29, 2011March 31, 2011MelbourneRod Laver ArenaApril 1, 2011April 2, 2011April 5, 2011AucklandNew ZealandVector ArenaThe Potbelleez11,510 / 11,510$1,019,420North AmericaApril 27, 2011SunriseUnited StatesBank Atlantic CenterAkonTinie Tempah10,039 / 10,039$657,126April 28, 2011OrlandoAmway CenterAkonDev and the Cataracs9,807 / 9,807$588,373April 30, 2011CharlotteTime Warner Cable Arena10,602 / 10,602$644,240May 1, 2011ColumbiaColonial Life Arena10,733 / 10,733$629,370May 4, 2011ProvidenceDunkin' Donuts Center7,876 / 7,876$479,703May 6, 2011Atlantic CityBoardwalk Hall12,198 / 12,198$861,681May 7, 2011NewarkPrudential Center11,783 / 11,783$890,168May 8, 2011UniondaleNassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum9,502 / 9,502$747,516May 11, 2011PittsburghConsol Energy Center13,044 / 13,044$815,557May 12, 2011ClevelandQuicken Loans Arena11,501 / 11,501$632,022May 14, 2011TorontoCanadaAir Canada Centre15,984 / 15,984$1,310,834May 15, 2011Auburn HillsUnited StatesThe Palace of Auburn Hills11,689 / 11,689$810,800May 18, 2011ColumbusJerome Schottenstein Center11,601 / 11,601$735,854May 20, 2011RosemontAllstate Arena10,766 / 10,766$734,451May 21, 2011MinneapolisTarget Center12,711 / 12,711$804,713May 22, 2011OmahaCenturyLink Center Omaha14,424 / 14,424$977,494May 25, 2011VancouverCanadaRogers Arena14,133 / 14,133$1,180,892May 26, 2011PortlandUnited StatesModa Center10,099 / 10,099$667,846May 28, 2011SacramentoSleep Train Arena10,798 / 10,798$574,199May 29, 2011San JoseSAP Center at San Jose10,725 / 10,725$614,277June 1, 2011Los AngelesStaples CenterAkonTinie Tempah12,614 / 12,614$1,087,547TOTAL855,903 / 865,399 (99%)$70,212,894
Cancellations and rescheduled shows December 11, 2010Norfolk, VirginiaNorfolk ScopeCancelledJanuary 12, 2011Berlin, GermanyMercedes-Benz ArenaInitially postponed to January 13, 2011, however, the concert was cancelled 45 minutes into the showJanuary 14, 2011Rotterdam, NetherlandsRotterdam AhoyPostponed then rescheduled to March 1, 2011January 15, 2011Oberhausen, GermanyKönig-Pilsener ArenaCancelledJanuary 16, 2011Antwerp, BelgiumSportpaleisPostponed then rescheduled to March 2, 2011March 29, 2011Auckland, New ZealandVector ArenaThis concert was moved to April 5, 2011
Personnel Director – Barry LatherBarry Lather Choreography – Anwar "Flii Stylz" Burton, Aakomon "AJ" Jones, Todd Sams, Ed Moore and David "SuperDave" Royster Musical Direction – Johnny "Natural" Najera, Josh Thomas and Usher Raymond IV Art/Creative – Barry Lather, Josh Thomas, Anwar "Flii Stylz" Burton, Usher Raymond IV, Ed Moore and Aakomon "AJ" Jones Dancers – Devin Jamieson, Marc "Marvelous" Inniss, Saidah Nairobi, Eyal Layani, Eddie Morales, and Todd Sams
Source:
Notes
References