Justin Timberlake and The Police in Hot Pursuit of Top Spot

Concert Rankings See Dramatic Moves in Classic Rockstar Style

By Stacey Willets

Whether you’re looking for Jersey Boys or the Cowboys, we’ve got all the hot theatre, sports, and concert events in TicketNews.com’s exclusive weekly Top Tens. Read on for a look at this week’s best sellers.

It’s time to face the music; concerts occupy a smaller share of the Top Events chart this week. Kenny Chesney, Rascal Flatts, and Céline Dion find themselves dispatched by pro football. The sole survivor from last week’s playlist is Dave Matthews Band, who drops one spot to number eight. With The Police rejoining the rankings in the number ten spot, concert events drum up only a pair of top positions, the same number of events as theatre. The potent mix of MLB and NFL leaves the chart saturated with sports. The NFL presence expands from the lone Cowboys to include the Seattle Seahawks, who debut at number two and the Denver Broncos, who debut at number nine. The heart of the chart consists of a cluster of MLB teams. The Boston Red Sox take number four this week, the Chicago Cubs advance to number five, and the New York Yankees round out the trio at six.

A record-tying homerun by Barry Bonds doesn’t spare Major League Baseball from slowly being squeezed out of the sports rankings by the NFL. America’s pastime is reduced to a hold of four positions on the Top Sports chart. The Boston Red Sox spend another week at number two, the Chicago Cubs take number three, the New York Yankees appear at four, and the Detroit Tigers drop to ten . . .

The remaining six slots are filled by the NFL, with the Seattle Seahawks claiming the number one spot this week. Last week’s number one, the Dallas Cowboys, appear after the baseball break at number five, bumping the Denver Broncos down a spot to number six. The Carolina Panthers and the New England Patriots join the rankings at positions seven and eight, respectively. The Kansas City Chiefs gain a spot to take number nine.

Monty Python’s Spamalot returns to the Top Theatre chart this week, the recovery from its dip “down under” concurrent with news that a cast has been announced for the first Australian production of the show. It takes number six in the Top Theatre rankings as well as in the Top New York City Theatre rankings. Disney’s Little Mermaid appears on the Top Theatre chart at number nine, offering a bit of undersea adventure just as the time draws near to retire our beach blankets. Though no torches or pitchforks were involved, Young Frankenstein is driven from both sets of theatre rankings.

Justin Timberlake shows off his moves on the Top Concerts chart, advancing from the number ten ranking to number three. The Police follow suit with a six position leap, taking them from the number eight spot to number two. Neither one is able to overtake Dave Matthews Band, however. DMB spends a second straight week at the top of the chart. Kenny Chesney also makes a big move, though not towards the spotlight. He drops five spots from number two to number seven.

A change of luck puts Bette Midler, Toni Braxton, and Lance Burton out of the Vegas rankings. The openings are filled by Danny Gans, Barry Manilow, and Mamma Mia!. They appear at numbers seven, eight, and nine, respectively. Cirque Du Soleil continues to maintain three positions in the rankings with LOVE at two, “O” at three, and KÀ at six.

To see this week’s rankings, check out the press release in the Daily Buzz section of TicketNews.com.