Rihanna Shines Bright : Singer ranks at No.1 on Hot Tours with sales reported from her Diamonds world tour's

Rihanna ranks at No. 1 on Hot Tours with sales reported from her Diamonds world tour's European jaunt that spanned nine weeks from late May through the end of July. Ticket sales from the summertime swing through 14 countries totaled more than $68 million from 34 performances. The top grosser among the summer dates was a two-show stand in London on June 15-16 at Twickenham Stadium. With an attendance of 95,971 for both nights, sales at the 82,000-seat rugby venue topped £5.5 million ($8.6 million US$).

The Diamonds tour, in support of Rihanna's 2012 album Unapologetic, kicked off on March 8 in Buffalo, N.Y. and played U.S. and Canadian arenas through May 7, closing with a packed house at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. With revenue from the European dates added, the tour's overall gross passed the $100 million mark from more than 1.2 million sold tickets. Following the run through Europe, the Barbadian singer spent September and October on brief jaunts through markets in Asia, Australia/New Zealand and South Africa as well as stops in Abu Dhabi and Tel Aviv. She is currently on the road for a final North American trek that wraps on Nov. 15 in New Orleans.

Brad Paisley lands at No. 2 among the week's top-grossing tours with $5.7 million in revenue from eight Canadian markets during a fall swing of his Beat This Summer tour. The lone September date in the mix was a two-show engagement in St. John's, Newfoundland with more than 10,000 fans in attendance at the Mile One Centre. The remaining seven shows all occurred during October, and the Edmonton concert on Oct. 26 produced the largest crowd. A sold out show at the city's 16,000-seat Rexall Place drew more than 12,000 fans.

Since launching on May 9, Paisley's Beat This Summer trek has grossed $22 million from 37 reported concerts, drawing more than half a million fans. Shows continue into November with a handful of U.S. dates remaining on the 2013 itinerary. Two European dates in the spring of 2014 and an August festival appearance next summer are already on the country superstar's touring schedule.