Many Pinoy fans of international pop star Ariana Grande were caught off guard when ticket prices for her first-ever concert in the country were announced a few days ago.
Apparently, one has to pay a minimum of P2,099 (plus other charges) to watch Grande perform in the Manila leg of her “The Honeymoon Tour” from the general admission section. The most expensive section is pegged at P15,999. Tickets will go on sale by April 14.
Netizens, including Filipino Arianators (term for true-blue Ariana Grande fans), were seemingly shocked with the relatively high rates, prompting them to start the hashtag “LowerPricesForHoneymoonTourPH” on Twitter in hopes of influencing the organizers to lower ticket prices.
A user wrote, “@ArianaGrande im so sorry i wont be able to see you close up. All i can afford is (the) general admission (rate).”
Some argued that not having a meet-and-greet with Grande or even gift bags as giveaways for ticket purchase – apparently a fan freebie for One Direction’s concert here – is factor to mark down ticket prices.Grande got her break show business on the Nickelodeon TV series “Victorious,” where she played Cat Valentine. She is behind the hits “Problem,” “Break Free” and “Love Me Harder.”
The concert promoter of Grande’s show have yet to make a statement on the matter.
The issue of pricey tickets calls to mind the eye-popping fees local fans had to pay to see their favorite foreign artists perform here.
Mariah Carey visited last year to the tune of around P16,000 for VIP and Patron A guests, while seeing One Direction (even without former member Zayn Malik) a bit closer at their recent two-day show cost around P15,000 to P18,000.
Most notable were the sold-out premier seats at Jennifer Lopez’s dance tour in 2012, which were priced at a whopping P26,000 each.
VIP ticket prices for each of Katy Perry’s PH shows have risen constantly – from P3,600 in 2009 and P10,500 in 2012, to P16,000 for her upcoming concert in May.