This article was originally published on Dec 18, 2025 and was updated on Dec 19, 2025.

Learn about the city that sold enough tickets to seat its entire population 14 times, the viral moments that sent prices flying, the K-Pop capitol of America, and the $3 Chris Brown ticket that beat the system.

A Look Back on the Year in Fan Service

In 2025, millions of people did something wild: they went outside.

It’s true. Despite being told we’re more glued to screens than ever, you bought millions of tickets on Gametime to scream, cry, sing, laugh, and witness history in real life. Turns out, being there still matters.

Here’s the breakdown of where and how fans showed up—to sports, music, and theater—based on data from the millions of tickets sold on Gametime in 2025.

The Artists America Showed Up For

Streaming numbers are cool. Drawing crowds of tens of thousands is cooler.

In 2025, Taylor Swift might have led in U.S. streaming on Spotify, but the Weeknd owned concert ticket demand.

1. The Weeknd

2. Chris Brown

3. Morgan Wallen

4. Kendrick Lamar

5. NBA Youngboy

Together, these five artists generated more ticket demand than the entire NHL season.

But Taylor Swift!! Where’s Taylor in this Roundup? How could you leave out Taylor?

The Eras Tour concluded in December 2024, yet still casts a shadow over all ticket talk.

To put her scale into perspective:

One average Eras Tour concert = 3 NASCAR races = 45 performances of Hamilton

What America Streams vs. What America Actually Goes To

Pop dominates playlists—but rock, country, and hip-hop dominate live attendance.

Across nearly the entire U.S., Gametime fans showed up most for those three genres. With a couple of notable exceptions:

K-Pop dominated Hawaii
In Alaska, stand up comedy outsold every music genre

The Show Most Traveled For

Chris Brown’s show at Allegiant Stadium on 9/20 had the highest percentage of attendees coming in from out of town, with 51% traveling more than 250+ miles to see the show. Approximately 22% of the audience came from California.

Broadway shows posted similar numbers, about 40% of our Broadway ticket sales came from out of state.

The Top Live Event Destinations of 2025

Top 5 Metro Areas by Share of Total Sales

New York: 13%
Los Angeles: 10%
Boston: 5%
Chicago: 4.5%
Las Vegas: 4.3%

But our live event capital of 2025?

East Rutherford, New Jersey

Population: 10,154

Attendance per capita: 13.46 tickets per resident

Why? MetLife Stadium. And a truly stacked lineup:

Beyoncé, The Weeknd, Chris Brown, Kendrick Lamar, Zach Bryan, Billy Joel, My Chemical Romance, Shakira, System of a Down, Oasis.

For reference, the 10,000 people who live in East Rutherford, New Jersey would take up less than 1/8th of MetLife Stadium.

Top Pop Culture Moments of 2025

Some moments don’t just trend, they move the entertainment world.

Katseye’s Gap Commercial caused a 161% increase in get-in price and a ~40% spike in average ticket price. So their milkshake, indeed, brought everyone to the yard.

Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl Performance drove his concert ticket sales up 226% the next day.

But Taylor Swift + Travis Kelce’s engagement? Only drove get-in prices up 17% for the next Chief’s game (Chargers vs. Chiefs on 12/14).

The Best Ticket Deals of 2025

Some people got wildly great deals on tickets using Gametime’s best-price algorithm:

NBA Finals Game 6: Pacers vs. OKC (6/19)

Highest ticket sold: $7,642
Lowest ticket sold: $45

Chris Brown (8/10)

Highest ticket sold: $2,507
Lowest ticket sold: $3

Yep. $3. That’s Gametime for you!

How Fans Go to Events

The Loneliest Fans

Some moments are so big that you just have to be there, no matter what.

Sports:
- New York Yankees led all teams, with 14% of purchases made solo
Music:
- NBA YoungBoy stood out: 36% of purchases were solo

Where You Bring the Squad

And some shows are made for a party.

Morgan Wallen had the year’s largest single group purchase at 19 tickets, and 9% of his audience arrived in groups of 5+.

Final Whistle, Curtain Call

In 2025, fans didn’t just follow trends—they made them.

They crossed state lines.

They grabbed the $3 seat.

They went alone.

They brought 18 friends.

And they showed up.

Here’s to doing it all again next year.

And next time you buy tickets, first time Gametime users can get $20 off $150+ with code FANDOM.