R&B musician Alicia Keys is currently dominating the singles charts with her collaboration with Jay-Z on “Empire State of Mind.” But in the New Year, it will all be about Keys as she starts to piece together a headlining tour for the late winter and early spring months.
The native New Yorker has rolled out just 10 dates for her arena tour as her schedule opens with a February 28 performance at Bell Centre in Montreal, QC. At present, the singer’s routing is primarily focused in the Northeast, though the routing will eventually take her to the West Coast as she closes her jaunt on April 6 at Staples Center in Los Angeles, CA.
Along the way, Keys will make plenty of stops across the U.S. and Canada. Engagements are scheduled for March 10 at Air Canada Centre in Toronto, ON; March 17 at Madison Square Garden in New York, NY; and March 22 at Agganis Arena in Boston, MA, among other planned stops.
The first public ticket sales for Keys’ arena-bound outing start on December 19 through Ticketmaster. Face values for most concert dates range from $49.50 to $125, though the primary outlets are also offering pricier VIP packages for select dates.
Keys is getting most of her current airplay for her feature with Jay-Z, but her fourth studio album “The Element of Freedom” was just released nationally on December 15. While Brit sensation Susan Boyle’s debut album is expected to snag the lead spot for a fourth straight week on next week’s Billboard 200, Keys’ album is projected to have sales upwards of 350,000 units for a strong opening week, according to published reports.
The singer-pianist’s past three albums all topped the Billboard 200 upon their release and have earned multi-Platinum status from the RIAA. Keys’ smash debut “Songs in A Minor” is still her personal best with more than six million copies sold so far, though her 2007 single “No One” leads her singles with triple-Platinum status.
Alicia Keys itinerary:
(Dates are subject to change.)
| February 28 | Montreal, QC | Bell Centre |
| March 1 | Ottawa, ON | Scotiabank Place |
| March 3 | Rosemont, IL | Allstate Arena |
| March 8 | London, ON | John Labatt Centre |
| March 10 | Toronto, ON | Air Canada Centre |
| March 11 | Quebec City, QC | Quebec Colisee Pepsi |
| March 17 | New York, NY | Madison Square Garden Arena |
| March 19 | Newark, NJ | Prudential Center |
| March 22 | Boston, MA | Agganis Arena at Boston University |
| April 6 | Los Angeles, CA | Staples Center |