Olivia Rodrigo tickets went on sale, then all hell broke loose. ‘It’s brutal out here’
Tickets for Olivia Rodrigo’s highly anticipated “Sour Tour” officially went on sale Friday, Dec. 10, but many were left empty-handed as the market was flooded with eager buyers.
Her tour is set to begin in April in San Francisco, and she will headline concerts in more than 40 cities throughout North America and Europe.
Instead of hitting arenas or stadiums, Rodrigo will tour in ballrooms, theaters and other smaller music venues. So tickets were few for the countless fans who have been waiting months for Rodrigo’s debut headlining tour.
There was a verified fan registration for her North American tour dates through Ticketmaster, meaning fans could sign up for what is essentially a lottery to purchase tickets. Fans learned Thursday night whether they were selected to participate in the sale.
By the time tickets went on sale Friday at 10 a.m., many fans were left in the dust. Some people showed images of thousands of people ahead of them in online queues.
People not chosen in the verified fan registration were unable to get tickets, and even some who received a registration code could not get tickets in time. Some venues sold out within minutes, and within a couple of hours the entire tour had sold out.
“Trying to get Olivia Rodrigo tickets was like being in the Hunger Games,” one Twitter user said. “God it’s brutal out here.”
Soon after tickets went on sale, some appeared on exchanges by scalpers for more than $1,000.
Rodrigo has been regarded as the breakout musician of 2021. Two of her songs, “good 4 u” and “drivers license,” both have more than 1 billion streams on Spotify, the latter being the most streamed song in the world in 2021 on the platform. Her debut album, “SOUR,” was the most streamed album globally, Spotify announced earlier this month.
Rodrigo, who broke out on the Disney Plus show “High School Musical: The Musical: The Series,” is up for seven Grammy awards, including Record of the Year, Album of the Year, Song of the Year and Best New Artist.
Tickets went on sale earlier in the day for her Europe concert dates and reportedly sold out in three minutes. Ticketmaster said it was an “incredibly busy” morning with people purchasing tickets to the shows.
“We’re all out of tickets for Olivia Rodrigo,” Ticketmaster UK said. “Sorry to anyone who missed out this time.”
This story was originally published December 10, 2021 at 10:01 AM with the headline "Olivia Rodrigo tickets went on sale, then all hell broke loose. ‘It’s brutal out here’."