Freedom Tour

The Freedom Tour

Tour by Alicia Keys
Promotional poster for Keys' 2010 world tour
Associated album	The Element of Freedom
Start date	February 26, 2010
End date	July 3, 2010
Legs	3
Number of shows	26 in North America 23 in Europe 1 in Africa 50 Total
Box office	US $29.4 million ($31.9 in 2016 dollars)[1]
Alicia Keys concert chronology

The Freedom Tour was the fourth concert tour by American singer-songwriter Alicia Keys in support of her fourth studio album, The Element of Freedom. The tour commenced at the Scotiabank Place in Ottawa on February 26, 2010. The tour continued onto North America visiting Europe as well.^[2] In June, Keys will headline one concert in Johannesburg, giving the singer in first performances in South Africa. According to Pollstar, the tour grossed $29.4 million worldwide, with 43 shows.

Background

Keys announced her forthcoming tour in December 2009, shortly after the release of fourth studio album. During the same time, Keys was named R&B/Hip-Hop Artist of the Decade by Billboard magazine.^[3] When describing the tour, Keys mentions,^[3]

The show is, obviously, always focused around music; that's what is always my main focus. When we first start putting it all together, it all starts at the music, and then it's what story that I want to tell and kind of what energy I want to give off. There's going to be something for everyone in this show because that's who I am, I am a person who feels things from all different angles and directions, and I'm going to express it that way ... and that's how I arm-wrestle people who are close-minded.

Opening acts

• Robin Thicke (North America)
• Melanie Fiona (North America and Europe)

Set list

North America 

1. "Caged Bird"
2. "Love Is Blind"
3. "Troubles"¹
4. "You Don't Know My Name" (contains elements of "Flashing Lights")
5. "Fallin'"
6. "Another Way To Die"
7. "Karma" (contain excerpts from "Once in a Lifetime")
8. "Heartburn" (contains elements of "I Feel For You")
9. "Like the Sea"¹
10. "I Need You"
11. "Pray for Forgiveness"
12. "Diary"
13. "Like You'll Never See Me Again"
14. "Wait Til You See My Smile"
15. "Go Ahead"
16. "Put It in a Love Song"¹
17. "Un-Thinkable (I'm Ready)"
18. "Try Sleeping with a Broken Heart"
19. "Superwoman"
20. "If I Ain't Got You"
21. "No One"
22. Encore: "Empire State of Mind (Part II) Broken Down"

¹Performed at select dates

Source:^[4]

Europe 

1. Introduction: Welcome to the Element of Freedom
2. "Love Is Blind"
3. "You Don't Know My Name" (contains elements of "Flashing Lights")
4. "Fallin'"
5. "Go Ahead"
6. "Another Way to Die"
7. "Karma" (contain excerpts from "Once in a Lifetime")
8. Interlude: Let Me Play for You
9. "Pray for Forgiveness"
10. "Diary"
11. Interlude: Keep a Child Alive
12. "If I Ain't Got You"
13. "Like You'll Never See Me Again"
14. "Wait Til You See My Smile"
15. "Feeling Good" (performed by backup singer)
16. "Try Sleeping with a Broken Heart"
17. "Superwoman"
18. "Unthinkable (I'm Ready)"
19. Interlude: "I'm Ready"
20. "Doesn't Mean Anything"
21. "No One"
22. Encore: "Empire State of Mind Part II (Broken Down)"

Taken from the Official UK Element of Freedom Tour Programme.^[5]

Additional notes

• During Keys' concert at Madison Square Garden in New York City, she was joined by Beyoncé to perform "Put It in a Love Song" and later Swizz Beatz and Jay-Z to perform "Empire State of Mind." ^[6]
• During Key's concert at Gelredome in Arnhem she dedicated a song to her mother and asked the audience to say "Happy Birthday Mama Keys". In the Netherlands Keys also played her song "Like the Sea" just after "Karma".

Tour dates

Date	City	Country	Venue
North America [7][8][9][10][11]
February 26, 2010	Ottawa	Canada	Scotiabank Place
February 28, 2010	Montreal		Bell Centre
March 3, 2010	Rosemont	United States	Allstate Arena
March 5, 2010	Detroit		Fox Theatre
March 6, 2010
March 8, 2010	London	Canada	John Labatt Centre
March 10, 2010	Toronto		Air Canada Centre
March 11, 2010	Verona	United States	Turning Stone Event Center
March 13, 2010	Mashantucket		MGM Grand Theater
March 14, 2010
March 17, 2010	New York City		Madison Square Garden
March 19, 2010	Newark		Prudential Center
March 20, 2010	Atlantic City		Mark G. Etess Arena
March 22, 2010	Boston		Agganis Arena
March 24, 2010	Baltimore		1st Mariner Arena
March 25, 2010	Washington, D.C.		Verizon Center
March 27, 2010	Miami		American Airlines Arena
March 28, 2010	Tampa		St. Pete Times Forum
March 30, 2010	Atlanta		Philips Arena
April 2, 2010	Grand Prairie		Nokia Theatre at Grand Prairie
April 3, 2010	Houston		Toyota Center
April 6, 2010	Los Angeles		Staples Center
April 7, 2010	Santa Barbara		Santa Barbara Bowl
April 9, 2010	Paradise		Mandalay Bay Events Center
April 10, 2010	Oakland		Oracle Arena
Europe [9][10][11][12]
April 29, 2010	Lisbon	Portugal	Pavilhão Atlântico
May 1, 2010^[A]	Ischgl	Austria	Silvrettaseilbahn AG
May 2, 2010	Verona	Italy	Verona Arena
May 4, 2010	Marseille	France	Le Dôme de Marseille
May 7, 2010	Berlin	Germany	O2 World
May 8, 2010	Arnhem	Netherlands	GelreDome XS
May 9, 2010	Frankfurt	Germany	Festhalle Frankfurt
May 12, 2010	Hamburg		O2 World Hamburg
May 13, 2010	Oberhausen		König Pilsener Arena
May 15, 2010	Antwerp	Belgium	Sportpaleis
May 17, 2010	Zürich	Switzerland	Hallenstadion
May 19, 2010	Birmingham	England	National Indoor Arena
May 21, 2010	Dublin	Ireland	The O2
May 22, 2010^[B]	Bangor	Wales	Vaynol Park
May 23, 2010	Glasgow	Scotland	Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre
May 25, 2010	London	England	The O2
May 26, 2010
May 29, 2010	Manchester		Manchester Evening News Arena
May 31, 2010	Paris	France	Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy
June 2, 2010	Barcelona	Spain	Palau Sant Jordi
June 4, 2010	Lyon	France	Halle Tony Garnier
June 6, 2010	Santa Cruz de Tenerife	Spain	El Recinto de la Autoridad Portuaria de Santa Cruz
Africa
June 10, 2010 ^[C]	Johannesburg	South Africa	Orlando Stadium
North America
July 3, 2010 ^[D]	New Orleans	United States	Louisiana Superdome

Festivals and other miscellaneous performances

^A This concert is a part of Festival Ischgl/Top of the Mountain Concert ^[13]

^B This concert is part of the BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend Music Festival.^[14]

^C This concert is part of the FIFA World Cup Kick-off Celebration Concert.

^D This concert is part of the Essence Music Festival ^[15]

Box office score data

Venue	City	Tickets Sold / Available	Gross Revenue
Bell Centre	Montreal	6,620 / 7,880 (84%)	$632,023[16]
Fox Theater	Detroit	8,142 / 8,590 (95%)	$677,636[17]
John Labatt Centre	London	4,827 / 6,025 (80%)	$375,358[16]
Verizon Center	Washington, D.C.	9,087 / 13,085 (69%)	$827,593 [18]
Philips Arena	Atlanta	9,099 / 9,099 (100%)	$643,646 [19]
Nokia Theatre at Grand Prairie	Grand Prairie	4,192 / 5,826 (72%)	$382,709 [20]
Staples Center	Los Angeles	14,539 / 15,115 (96%)	$1,134,106 [19]
Santa Barbara Bowl	Santa Barbara	3,395 / 4,547 (75%)	$326,392 [21]
O2 World	Berlin	6,231 / 6,231 (100%)	$360,516 [22]
O2 World Hamburg	Hamburg	6,224 / 8,769 (71%)	$461,704 [23]
National Indoor Arena	Birmingham	10,870 / 10,870 (100%)	$634,808 [22]
The O2	Dublin	8,061 / 8,061 (100%)	$671,964 [22]
Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre	Glasgow	8,736 / 8,736 (100%)	$522,719 [22]
The O2	London, U.K.	32,333 / 32,396 (~100%)	$1,850,460 [23]
Manchester Evening News Arena	Manchester	15,414 / 15,414 (100%)	$896,216 [22]
Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy	Paris	16,460 / 16,460 (100%)	$1,068,820 [24]
TOTAL		168,017 / 183,246 (92%)	$11,779,689

References

1. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. Retrieved November 10, 2015.
2. Madison, Tjames (2009-12-15). "Alicia Keys plots initial dates for 'Freedom' trek". LiveDaily. Retrieved 2010-03-25.
3. Sclafani, Tony (2010-03-24). "The Road to Freedom:Alicia Keys". Express Night Out. The Washington Post Company. Retrieved 2010-03-24.
4. Kot, Greg (2010-03-04). "Concert Review: Alicia Keys at Allstate Arena". Chicago Tribune. Tribune Company. Retrieved 2010-03-25.
5. MBK Entertainment. Alicia Keys - The Element of Freedom Official UK Tour Programme. RCA / J Records.
6. Dinh, James (2010-03-10). "Jay-Z And Beyonce Join Alicia Keys During New York Concert". MTV News. MTV Network. Retrieved 2010-03-24.
7. Madison, Tjames (2010-02-05). "Alicia Keys takes 'Freedom' a step further". LiveDaily. Retrieved 2010-03-24.
8. Crosley, Holly (2010-02-19). "Alicia Keys' 'Freedom' Tour Hits U.S. This Month". MTV News. MTV Networks. Retrieved 2010-03-24.
9. "Alicia Keys past Events". Keys' Official Website. Sony Music Entertainment.
10. "Alicia Keys Tour & Events". Keys' Official Website. Sony Music Entertainment.
11. "Alicia Keys Dates". Pollstar.
12. "Alicia Keys Tickets For All On-Sale Dates and Concerts". NME. IPC Media.
13. "Alicia Keys in Ischgl". Ischgl Official Tourism Website. Tourismusverabnd Paznaun-Ischgal.
14. "Rihanna, Florence & The Machine and Pendulum in Bangor". BBC News. The British Broadcasting Corporation. 2010-04-26. Retrieved 2010-04-27.
15. "Alicia Keys Joins Mary J. Blige As Headliner Of 2010 Essence Festival". Billboard.
16. "Billboard Boxscore", Billboard Magazine (New York City: Nielsen Business Media, Inc.), 2010-03-20, retrieved 2010-03-24
17. "Billboard Boxscore". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 2010-11-27. Retrieved 2010-11-19.
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24. "Billboard Boxscore", Billboard Magazine (New York City: Nielsen Business Media, Inc.), 2010-07-31, retrieved 2010-07-23