American Idols Live! rocks the charts

The popularity of the annual American Idols Live! tour helped push the Idols onto TicketNews’s exclusive rankings charts for the week of May 12 – May 18, 2008. American Idols Live! debuted at third place on the Overall Top Events chart with a power score of 3.76.

Tina Turner also had a strong week, and the powerful diva clinched the top position with a score of 7.27. Wicked remained in second place with a power score of 5.09 and the New York Yankees retained the fourth position with a power score of 2.99. Madonna leapt from tenth to fifth place this week with a score of 2.96 and Neil Diamond fell five positions out of first place to end in sixth place this week with a 2.45 power score.

On the sportier side of things, the New York Yankees remained the Top Sports Event and continued their five-week run in first place with a power score of 9.65. The Boston Red Sox followed behind the Yankees for another week in second place with a power score of 7.40, and the Chicago Cubs continued their four-week run in third place with a score of 4.98. Other sports notables this week included the Boston Celtics, who climbed two positions to fourth place this week. The Celtics topped the Cleveland Cavaliers by just 5 points in Game 7 of the NBA Eastern Conference Semifinals on Sunday, May 18 to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals against the Detroit Pistons. The series begins tomorrow, May 20.

The Top Theater Events and Top Broadway Events included a familiar cast of favorite productions this week. “Wicked” topped both charts for another straight week, with power scores of 40.34 and 38.04, respectively. Jersey Boys ranked second on both lists with scores of 15.54 and 14.21, South Pacific sailed on in third place with 6.43 and 10.71, and Lion King continued its reign in fourth with 5.02 and 5.24 power scores. Little Mermaid, Phantom of the Opera, Mary Poppins, Young Frankenstein, and the Radio City Christmas Spectacular also appeared on both charts.

Tina Turner turned it on in the Top Concert Events rankings, as she claimed the top position with a power score of 13.00. American Idols Live! Earned a second place finish with a power score of 6.72, and Madonna climbed three positions to third place with a 5.30 power score. Neil Diamond fell from first to fourth place this week with a score of 4.38, and The Eagles slid back one position to fifth place with a 3.25 power score. The New Kids on the Block and Metallica also made their debuts on this week’s top concert events chart in sixth and tenth place, respectively.

There was a familiar lineup of Top Las Vegas Events this week as well, with some consistently popular events heading up the charts. Cher remained in first place with a power score of 47.63, followed by Bette Midler in second with a score of 21.63. Elton John: The Red Piano continued its run of third place with a power score of 9.63, and two Cirque shows: “O” and LOVE followed in fourth and fifth place, with power scores of 6.79 and 4.21. Other top Vegas events included Le Reve, Phantom: The Las Vegas Spectacular, and Blue Man Group.

TicketNews Exclusive Rankings and Power Scores are based on ticket sales from the TicketNetwork Exchange™, the world’s largest secondary market exchange. A Power Score illustrates a given event’s category-specific significance. Two factors are used to calculate a power score: total ticket sales from the given event and total ticket sales within the category. As such, power scores should only be used to compare events within a particular category.