Beyond Madonna: The 10 Greatest Shows in Music History. (photo: reproduction/camila cara/see)

Beyond Madonna: the 10 biggest shows in music history

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On May 4th, Madonna took the record for the biggest female show in history. See who else made it to this ranking

The beginning of May went down in music history. With the final show of the tour The Celebration Tour, Madonna held the title of biggest audience show for a female artist in the world, attracting 1,3 million Brazilians on Copacabana beach. And what about the others biggest shows in music history? Was Brazil already on the list before Madonna blew up an entire country with the Queen of Pop's biggest tour?

In this list of showmetech, get to know the biggest shows ever recorded and be surprised by some of the names and places that will appear throughout the article.

Beyond Madonna: The 10 Greatest Shows in Music History. (photo: reproduction/camila cara/see)
Beyond Madonna: the 10 greatest shows in music history. (Photo: Reproduction/Camila Cara/ Veja)

The most crowded shows in the world

10th: Diana Ross (22/07/1983)

Beyond Madonna: The 10 Greatest Shows in Music History. On May 4th, Madonna took the record for the biggest female show in history. See who else made it to this ranking
Diana Ross at the Central Park concert. (Photo: Reproduction/Getty Images/New York Post)

Opening the list of most crowded shows in the world, we have the presence of Diana Ross. For the "Worldwide from New York: For One And For All", at the Central Park in New York, a famous American city, Diana performed in 1983 to an estimated audience of 1,2 million people, at the time becoming the show with the largest audience in history. Worldwide was an independent and free show, and has a great story behind the brand.

In season, Diana Ross was already a great figure in pop culture: the former member of the most profitable girl group in the world and with the most appearances on the Billboard Hot 100 — the The Supremes — already had an astronomical solo career, with the successes of “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” e “Where Did Our Love Go”, for example; and even had a Oscar and a Golden Globe to call yours, for your performance in The Chance of a Star (1972), breaking yet another record by becoming the first African-American actress debuting in the industry to win the Hollywood Industry's highest honor.

Well, going back, your show would be a one-off performance on July 21st. However, on the same day, New York suffered from torrential rain which severely damaged the singer and actress' performance. Diana even tried to continue with the show and reassuring the audience, which on the day was estimated to be between 800 thousand New Yorkers, but the climatic state really did not allow it. Diana, before leaving, promised those present that the following day she would continue with her concert. Said and done, but now for a 62% bigger audience, going down in history in numerical terms and for his act of love and empathy.

9th: Jean-Michel Jarre (05/04/1986)

Beyond Madonna: The 10 Greatest Shows in Music History. On May 4th, Madonna took the record for the biggest female show in history. See who else made it to this ranking
Jean-Michel Jarre is one of the pioneers of the rise of electronic music linked to shows full of lights. (Photo: Reproduction)

Long before lasers and lights were practically a prerequisite at electronic music shows, Jean-Michel Jarre innovated with the use of these devices in his concerts, being one of the pioneers of tree of the musical genre.

For the sake of Houston's 150th Anniversary (Texas) and the NASA's 25th Anniversary, Jean-Michel Jarre performed in the middle of the skyscrapers of Downtown, the state's largest commercial district, on the night of April 5, 1986. The musician also took advantage of the occasion and celebrated the release of his new album “Rendez-Vous”. The audience present was 1,3 million people.

Beyond Madonna: The 10 Greatest Shows in Music History. On May 4th, Madonna took the record for the biggest female show in history. See who else made it to this ranking
View of Jean-Michel Jarre's performance in 1986. (Photo: Reproduction)

Furthermore, the show was a tribute to the astronauts who died on the Challenger space station, which took place just 2 months before Jean-Michel Jarre's show. In fact, in the initial plans for the show, astronaut Ron McNair, present on the space shuttle and also a jazz instrumentalist, I would record a song directly from Challenger, which would be reproduced on the concert’s big screens. After the tragedy, shaken, Jean considered canceling the event, but decided against it due to astronaut captain Bruce McCandless II, who suggested the show as a way of honoring them.

8th: The Rolling Stones (18/02/2006)

Beyond Madonna: The 10 Greatest Shows in Music History. On May 4th, Madonna took the record for the biggest female show in history. See who else made it to this ranking
Mick Jagger and the Rolling Stones had already created history on the sands of Copacabana. (Photo: Reproduction)

One of the most important bands of all time, Rolling Stones had already made a huge wave of public attendance at the Copacabana beach, in Rio de Janeiro, carving out a place in the biggest shows ever recorded. On March 18, 2006, Mick Jagger's band toured the world with their tour “big bang“, which became the British band's most profitable album and the third largest in history, losing to U360’s “2 Tour” and Taylor Swift’s recent “The Eras Tour”.

The Rolling Stones show had practically the same situation as the Madonna show, also free. It was estimated 1,5 million people on the beachalthough some analyzes indicate 2 million, but nothing concrete. The impact of the show was so great that the show was broadcast worldwide and resulted in a live album “A Bigger Bang: Live on Copacabana Beach“, released in 2021.

7th: Madonna (04/05/2024)

Madonna show on the river
At Madonna's historic show, it will be essential to take certain precautions on the sands of Copacabana. Photo: Reproduction / Internet.

And speaking of the Queen of Pop, among the list of the greatest shows in history, Madonna occupies seventh place, attracting 1,6 million people, 200 thousand more than The Rolling Stones, reaching the mark of the female show with the biggest audience of all time. Brazil came to a halt on March 21st with the confirmation of the singer's arrival in the country, much theorized by the tabloids, after 12 years since her last performance on Brazilian soil, on the MDNA Tour. Well, for all its hoopla, it can be said that the wait was worth it.

Touring the world with her 40-year career celebration tour, The Celebration Tour brought many classics from Madonna and pieces on stage telling about its origins. Just thinking that almost a widespread infection hindered the show's progress... what matters is that the concert was a tremendous success, both public and financial: R$300 million returned to Rio de Janeiro with 96% of the hotel sector occupied.

6th: Rock Monsters: AC/DC, Pantera, Metallica, The Black Crowes and EST (28/09/1991)

Beyond Madonna: The 10 Greatest Shows in Music History. On May 4th, Madonna took the record for the biggest female show in history. See who else made it to this ranking
Rock band Pantera shaking millions of people in Russia at the Monsters of Rock festival. (Photo: Reproduction/ Joe Giron)

Among the most crowded shows in the world is the 1991 edition of Monsters of Rock festival, the most prestigious within rock and heavy metal, which takes place annually between England and other international countries, including Brazil. In the edition that went down in history, there was Russia even when it was the Soviet Union, with AC/DC, Metallica — who had just released the album “Black Album” –, Pantera, EST, and The Black Crowes.

A month before the show, the Soviet Union was experiencing a turbulent political climate: a failed power coup in an attempt to overthrow President Mikhail Gorbachev by conservatives in the Communist Party. Before Gorbachev's reforms, the musical consumption of foreign bands and singers was vehemently prohibited in the country. What seemed like a dream became reality, with the Russians showing a strong presence of 1,7 million fans in Monsters of Rock 91.

5th: Antonello Venditti (24/06/2001)

Beyond Madonna: The 10 Greatest Shows in Music History. On May 4th, Madonna took the record for the biggest female show in history. See who else made it to this ranking
The Italian singer occupies fifth place with hits with songs with social themes, such as “Alta Marea” and “Roma Roma”. (Photo: Reproduction/Urban Post)

We know that football is Brazilians' greatest passion, but you will discover that the love for the sport is also contagious in Italy. For the sake of AS Roma's third Italian Championship title, which ended a drought of more than 18 years for the club, especially because the champion of the previous edition was Roma's biggest rival — Lazio —, a free show was commanded in the Circus Maximus by the Romanist fans to the sound of Antonello Venditti with more than 1,8 million people.

Antonello is famous in Italy for being a singer, composer and an excellent pianist, remembered for his songs with social themes. Born and raised in Rome, there was no way he wouldn't be the one to lead the great concert for AS Roma's third Serie A championship.

4th: Jean-Michel Jarre (14/07/1990)

Beyond Madonna: The 10 Greatest Shows in Music History. On May 4th, Madonna took the record for the biggest female show in history. See who else made it to this ranking
The French singer and composer is a big name in French music, occupying another place on the list. (Photo: Reproduction)

Yes, the man is back in yet another position. And also performing a show, which ended up becoming one of the biggest shows ever recorded, due to a celebration. At the Bastille Day, or as they call it in France National Day of France, on July 14, Jean-Michel Jarre was summoned by the French government to perform a free show for the population in 1990.

Beyond Madonna: The 10 Greatest Shows in Music History. On May 4th, Madonna took the record for the biggest female show in history. See who else made it to this ranking
More than 2,5 million people attended the artist's Bastille Day show. (Photo: Reproduction/Flickr)

The result couldn't be better: 2,5 million people in front of La Défense to honor the artist and his love for his country.

3rd: Jorge Ben Jor (31/12/1993)

Beyond Madonna: The 10 Greatest Shows in Music History. On May 4th, Madonna took the record for the biggest female show in history. See who else made it to this ranking
Jorge Ben Jor is elected by Rolling Stones Magazine as the 5th most prestigious Brazilian artist in music. (Photo: Reproduction)

We have already seen the Brazil representing this list of biggest shows in history as the venue for these megashows, but what about national artists? Well then, Jorge Ben Jo, great Brazilian singer and instrumentalist, responsible for spearheading a new genre that includes Skank, Paralamas do Sucesso and Racionais MC's — sambarock — and elected by Rolling Stones Magazine as the 5th greatest artist in the history of Brazilian music, completes the Top 3 most crowded shows in the world, once again under the sight of Copacabana beach.

Beyond Madonna: The 10 Greatest Shows in Music History. On May 4th, Madonna took the record for the biggest female show in history. See who else made it to this ranking
Jorge Ben Jor in his presentation in 1993, which brought together 3 million fans. (Photo: Reproduction/ Agência O Globo)

Na New Year's Eve 1993, Jorge Ben Jo managed to gather more than 3 million Brazilians, assuming for just 1 year the title of the show with the largest recorded audience in the history of music.

2th: Jean-Michel Jarre (06/09/1997)

Beyond Madonna: The 10 Greatest Shows in Music History. On May 4th, Madonna took the record for the biggest female show in history. See who else made it to this ranking
Rod Stewart occupies second place on the list of shows with the biggest audience in the world; astro owns “Stardust”. (Photo: Reproduction)

You can now request music on Fantástico, Jean-Michel Jarre appears again in the list of biggest shows in history, playing a (guess what?) free concert in front of the University of Moscow for the 850th anniversary of the great capital of Russia. This time, 3,5 million people watched his performance, matching another great show that took place 3 years earlier.

1st: Rod Stewart (31/12/1994)

Beyond Madonna: The 10 Greatest Shows in Music History. On May 4th, Madonna took the record for the biggest female show in history. See who else made it to this ranking
Rod Stewart playing on New Year's Eve at Copacabana Beach, making music history. (Photo: Reproduction/Band TV)

The main culprit for Jorge Ben Jor's title theft (at least initially) was Rod Stewart, British rock, pop and soul singer and one of the most relevant musicians of all time. Grammy winner, more than ten albums reaching number one on the world charts, 31 singles in the top ten and an estimated 120 million albums sold, Rod Stewart was the biggest figure in the world. New Year's Eve 1994 na Copacabana beach — yes, just a year after Jorge Ben Jor's great New Year's Eve spectacle in Rio, Rod Stewart surpassed the feat in the same place and on the same occasion.

More than 3,5 million people followed the singer's show, tied with Jean-Michel Jarre on the list of greatest shows in history.

Beyond Madonna: The 10 Greatest Shows in Music History. On May 4th, Madonna took the record for the biggest female show in history. See who else made it to this ranking
Panoramic view of the more than 3 million people who gathered on the beaches of Copacabana on New Year's Eve in 1995. (Photo: Reproduction)

Even so, there is controversy among the rock community, discrediting Rod Stewart's show in comparison to the Rolling Stones' performance in Rio in 2006. These same defenders argue that the Rolling Stones' achievement was greater, attracting 2 million fans who attended the show, unlike Rod's show, which coincided with New Year's Eve, and there may have been people who went to the show more for New Year's Eve than for Rod Stewart.

Regardless of your choice, Brazil was the country that concentrated the most biggest shows ever recorded, with the country’s strong influence on Industry being undeniable.

See more:

Source: Wikipedia, I have more records than friends, Trivela, IMDB, Wishplash

Text proofread by: Pedro Bomfim


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