Watch the Throne Tour

Background

On July 25, 2011, Jay-Z and West announced the release of their collaborative studio album Watch the Throne and an accompanying tour. The album was set for release on August 8, with tickets simultaneously being made available for the Watch the Throne Tour's North American leg from September 22 to November 3, 2011. On February 21, 2012, Jay-Z and West announced 12 European tour dates running from May 20 to June 13. Three tour dates at The O2 Arena in London and one at Manchester Arena were added three days later, starting the tour earlier on May 18 with one of the London concerts. On March 5, 2012, Jay-Z and West added dates in Birmingham, Sheffield, and Cologne after a strong response to their announcement of the tour's European leg, running up until June 22.

Synopsis

The tour's shows began with West and Jay-Z "emerging on two cube-shaped mini stages to the operatic sounds of "H•A•M". Following that, "Who Gon Stop Me" was the next song, with "Otis" being performed with "a Givenchy – designed American flag flashing on the stage's main screens" after an extended introduction using "Try a Little Tenderness" by Otis Redding. Afterwards, West left the stage, and Jay-Z performed songs like "Where I'm From" and "Empire State of Mind", encouraging the audience to sing along. Kanye returned to the stage afterwards, performing his own songs like "Power", "Touch the Sky", and "Gold Digger", with the two of them eventually performing songs like "Run This Town", "Monster" and the remix of "Diamonds from Sierra Leone" together, where Jay-Z repeatedly told the crowd to "put your diamonds up", the sign for Roc Nation.

Mixing hits from both artists discographies like "Can't Tell Me Nothing", "Good Life", "Izzo (H.O.V.A.)" and "99 Problems", the show then segued into West performing "Runaway" and "Heartless", which has been described as an "emotional highlight of the show". The most energetic part of the show has been reported to be during "Niggas in Paris" as "the track's Will Ferrell intro ("We're gonna skate to one song and one song only") brought on the moment that everyone was waiting for." "Niggas in Paris" was originally performed three times in a row, but as the tour progressed, the song was regularly performed up to ten times in succession, with the record being 11 times in Paris, France. Following other Watch the Throne tracks like "No Church in the Wild" and "Lift Off", the show ended with "Encore" and an rendition of "Made in America", complete with images of Martin Luther King Jr. and "sweet brother" Malcolm X flashing on the big screen. USA Today described the stage design:

Reception

Critical reception towards the tour was positive. MTV News gave the opening show a good review, writing "While the WTT album has been noted for its opulent displays of wealth, Hov and Yeezy's show will be marked by the duo's overabundance of hit records." USA Today praised the duo's ability to get the audience excited, stating "at one point, as Jay-Z and West performed Niggas in Paris from their new hit CD, "Watch the Throne", West exhorted the audience to "Bounce! Bounce!" The resulting stomping had Philips Arena rocking and shaking in a way that it hasn't for the Hawks in a long time." Rap-Up mused "it was a crowning moment for Jay-Z and Kanye West as they kicked off the Watch the Throne tour to a packed house at Philips Arena in Atlanta on Friday night. The hip-hop kings, collectively known as The Throne, opened the most anticipated hip-hop tour of the year with a bang." Idolator stated that the tour featured "an epic set list that featured selections from each artist's own behemoth catalog of hits as well as their Watch The Throne collaborations." The tour has grossed $48.3 million so far by the end of 2011, making it the highest grossing hip-hop tour and the eighth highest-grossing tour of 2011. In 2017, Rolling Stone listed it in its list of "The 50 Greatest Concerts of the Last 50 Years". In 2019, Consequence of Sound named it the third best tour of the 2010s. The tour won best live stage show at the 2012 International Laser Display Association Awards

In a 2011 interview with Rolling Stone, comedian Chris Rock said;

Setlists

North America

1. "H•A•M"
2. "Who Gon Stop Me"
3. "Otis"
4. "Welcome to the Jungle"
5. "Gotta Have It"
6. "Where I'm From"
7. "Nigga What, Nigga Who (Originator 99)"
8. "Can't Tell Me Nothing"
9. "Jesus Walks"
10. "All Falls Down"
11. "Diamonds from Sierra Leone"
12. "Public Service Announcement"
13. "U Don't Know"
14. "Run This Town"
15. "Monster"
16. "Power"
17. "Murder to Excellence"
18. "New Day"
19. "Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem)"
20. "Izzo (H.O.V.A.)"
21. "Good Life"
22. "Empire State of Mind"
23. "Runaway"
24. "Heartless"
25. "Stronger"
26. "On to the Next One"
27. "Dirt off Your Shoulder"
28. "Touch the Sky"
29. "All of the Lights"
30. "Big Pimpin'"
31. "Gold Digger"
32. "99 Problems"
33. "No Church in the Wild"
34. "Lift Off"
35. "Niggas in Paris" (several times) ;Encore |"Encore" |"Made in America" |"Why I Love You"

Europe

1. "H•A•M"
2. "Who Gon Stop Me"
3. "Otis"
4. "Welcome to the Jungle"
5. "Gotta Have It"
6. "Where I'm From"
7. "Nigga What, Nigga Who (Originator 99)"
8. "Can't Tell Me Nothing"
9. "All Falls Down"
10. "Flashing Lights"
11. "Jesus Walks"
12. "Diamonds from Sierra Leone"(Remix)
13. "Public Service Announcement"
14. "U Don't Know"
15. "Run This Town"
16. "Monster"
17. "Power"
18. "New Day"
19. "Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem)"
20. "Izzo (H.O.V.A.)"
21. "Empire State of Mind"
22. "Runaway"
23. "Heartless"
24. "Stronger"
25. "On to the Next One"
26. "Dirt off Your Shoulder"
27. "I Just Wanna Love U"
28. "That's My Bitch"
29. "Good Life"
30. "Touch the Sky"
31. "All of the Lights"
32. "Big Pimpin'"
33. "Gold Digger"
34. "99 Problems"
35. "No Church in the Wild"
36. "Lift Off"
37. Niggas in Paris ;Encore |"Niggas in Paris" (several times)

Tour dates

Box office score data

Members

The following individuals were members of the Watch The Throne tour:

• Mike Dean

• Mano

• Omar Edwards

• Noah Goldstein

• Che Pope

• Renelou Padora

• Don C

• Ibn Jasper

• Izvor Zivkovic

• Virgil Abloh

• Alex Rosenberg

• Matthew Williams

• Elon Rutberg

• Fabien Montique

• Tracey Mills

• Caitlyn Carpenter

• Hannah Christian

• Lara Holmes

• Ricky Anderson

• Sakiya Sandifer

• Justin Saunders

• Drew Goodman

Credits

• Creative Direction & Set Design: Kanye West & Es Devlin
• Additional Set Design: Bruce Rodgers
• Lighting Designer: Nick Whitehouse & John McGuire
• Video Designer: Geodezik

Notes

• London hosted the most Watch the Throne concerts (5), followed by Los Angeles and Paris (both 3).
• Rihanna made a special guest appearance on the third date (20 May) in London, performing her vocals on "Run This Town" and "All of the Lights". She is the only artist to have made a guest appearance on the tour.
• During the last date in London (22 May), Kanye West performed "Mercy" live for the first time.
• During the last date in Paris (18 June), at the 'Palais Omnisports de Bercy', they set a record, performing "Niggas in Paris" 12 times during approximately one hour.
• During the last date in Birmingham (22 June), Beyoncé and Kim Kardashian participated in the crowd mosh pit during the performance of "Niggas in Paris".

References

References

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