Welcome 2

Welcome 2 was a concert tour by American recording artist Prince. Playing over 80 shows, the tour reached North America, Europe, and Australia. Each leg of the tour was branded with the "Welcome 2" title followed by the continent in which the leg was located. The tour marked the singer's first performances in North America in over six years. The show was composed of the singer performing his hits with his band The New Power Generation. Alongside Prince, various musicians performed including Janelle Monáe, Esperanza Spalding, and Cassandra Wilson. The tour placed 39th on Pollstar's "Top 50 Worldwide Tour", earning nearly $20 million.^1[1]

Welcome 2

Tour by Prince
Banner advertisement for the North American leg of the tour
Location	North America Europe Oceania
Associated album	20Ten
Start date	December 15, 2010 (2010-12-15)
End date	September 26, 2012 (2012-09-26)
Legs	7
No. of shows	51 in North America 24 in Europe 8 in Oceania 83 in total (92 scheduled)
Prince concert chronology

Background

Prince announced the tour on October 14, 2010 at the famed Apollo Theater in New York City.^[2] He stated the tour would begin in Greater New York. He further explained to the audience each show would be different. "Come early, come often. I have a lot of hits... no two shows will be the same". For the tour, Prince played a custom gold Fender Stratocaster (made by the Fender Custom Shop), which was auctioned off at the end of the tour. The proceed benefited the Harlem Children's Zone.^[3]

The concerts were staged in the round, with the stage shaped like the singer's iconic love symbol.^[4] During shows, Prince invited several celebrities to come onstage and "jam out" with him, including Naomi Campbell, Whoopi Goldberg, Jamie Foxx, Alicia Keys, Leighton Meester, Questlove, Sherri Shepherd, Whitney Houston, and Cornel West.^[5][6] He also performed duets with specials guests throughout the shows in North America. For "The Beautiful Ones", Prince was joined onstage by ballet dancer Misty Copeland.^[7] During the concert at Madison Square Garden on December 29, 2010, Janelle Monáe performed "If I Was Your Girlfriend" with the singer. During the same show, Cyndi Lauper and Egypt Sherrod performed "Jungle Love".^[6]

Following his shows in Greater New York, Prince expanded the tour to include the San Francisco Bay Area and The Carolinas. In April, he announced he would perform a twenty-one night residency show at The Forum in Inglewood, California, during an appearance on Lopez Tonight.^[8] Dubbed "Welcome 2 America: 21-Night Stands", the singer performed throughout the months of April and May, including stops in Fresno, San Jose, and Sacramento. As the tour continued, Prince performed at several music festivals in Europe. In the fall of 2011, he announced he would bring his tour to Canada, his first performances in the territory in nearly ten years. In 2012, a tour of Australia received a warm response from spectators.^[9]

Opening acts

• Lalah Hathaway (East Rutherford—December 15, Greenville, North Charleston)^[10]
• Esperanza Spalding (East Rutherford—December 15)^[10]
• Maceo Parker (East Rutherford—December 17)^[10]
• Cassandra Wilson (East Rutherford—December 17)^[10]
• Graham Central Station (New York City—December 18, Oakland, Fresno, San Jose, Sacramento)^[11]
• Sinbad (New York City—December 18)
• Janelle Monáe (New York City—December 29)^[12]
• Mint Condition (New York City—December 29, Columbia)^[12]
• Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings (New York City—January 18)
• Cee Lo Green (New York City—February 2)
• Sheila E. (Oakland, Fresno, San Jose, Sacramento)^[13]
• Anthony Hamilton (Charlotte)^[14]
• Chaka Khan (Raleigh, Greensboro)

Setlist

Greater New York^[15]

December 15, 2010

1. "Laydown"
2. "Black Muse"
3. "The Beautiful Ones"
4. Medley: "Uptown" / "Raspberry Beret" / "Cream"
5. "Cool" (contains excerpts from "Let's Work")
6. "U Got the Look"
7. "Shhh"
8. "Angel" (performed by Shelby J.)
9. "Nothing Compares 2 U" (performed with Shelby J.)
10. "She's Always in My Hair"
11. "If I Was Your Girlfriend" (performed with Esperanza Spalding)
12. "Insatiable"
13. "Scandalous!"
14. "Adore"
15. "Purple Rain"

Encore

16. "Kiss"
17. "Sometimes It Snows in April" (performed with Lalah Hathaway)
18. "Diamonds and Pearls" (performed with Lalah Hathaway)
19. Medley: "All the Critics Love U in New York" / "Controversy" (contains excerpts from "Housequake") / "Sexy Dancer" / "Le Freak"

December 18, 2010

1. "Welcome 2 America"
2. "Dance (Disco Heat)"
3. "Baby I'm a Star"
4. "The Beautiful Ones"
5. "Let's Go Crazy"
6. "Delirious"
7. "1999"
8. "Shhh"
9. Medley: "Uptown" / "Raspberry Beret" / "Cream"
10. "Cool" (contains excerpts from "Let's Work")
11. "U Got the Look" (performed with Sheila E.)
12. "The Glamorous Life" (contains elements of "Soul Sacrifice") (performed with Sheila E.)
13. "Nothing Compares 2 U" (performed with Shelby J.)
14. "Purple Rain"

Encore

15. "Kiss" (performed with ?uestlove)
16. "A Love Bizarre"

December 29, 2010

1. "The Beautiful Ones"
2. "Let's Go Crazy"
3. "Delirious"
4. "1999"
5. "Little Red Corvette"
6. Medley: "Uptown" / "Raspberry Beret" / "Cream"
7. "Cool" (contains excerpts from "Let's Work")
8. "U Got the Look" (performed with Sheila E.)
9. "The Question of U"
10. "Purple Rain"

Encore

11. Medley: "Kiss" / "She's Always in My Hair" / "If I Was Your Girlfriend" (performed with Janelle Monáe)
12. Medley: "Condition of the Heart" / "Do Me, Baby" / "I Wanna Be Your Lover" / "How Come U Don't Call Me Anymore?" / "Sometimes It Snows in April"
13. "Controversy" (contains excerpts from "Housequake")
14. "Jungle Love" (performed with Cyndi Lauper and Egypt Sherrod)

California^[16]

February 23, 2011^[17]

1. "Let's Go Crazy"
2. "Delirious"
3. "1999"
4. "Little Red Corvette"
5. "The Glamorous Life" (contains elements of "Soul Sacrifice") (performed with Sheila E.)
6. "Somewhere Here on Earth"
7. "I Love U, but I Don't Trust U Anymore"
8. "Controversy" (contains elements of "Batdance")
9. "Play That Funky Music"
10. "A Love Bizarre" (performed with Sheila E.)
11. Medley: "Sexy Dancer" / "Le Freak" / "Love Rollercoaster"
12. "Controversy" (Reprise) (contains excerpts from "Housequake")
13. "If I Was Your Girlfriend"
14. "Kiss"
15. "Purple Rain"

Encore

16. "Dance (Disco Heat)" (Instrumental Interlude)
17. "Baby I'm a Star"
18. Medley: "When Doves Cry" / "Nasty Girl" / "Sign '☮' the Times" / "Alphabet St."
19. "My Love Is Forever"
20. "Darling Nikki" (Instrumental Interlude)
21. "Pop Life" (contains excerpts from "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)")
22. "Black Sweat"
23. "Jungle Love"

April 14, 2011^[18]

1. "D.M.S.R."
2. "Pop Life"
3. "Extraordinary"
4. Medley: "Uptown" / "Raspberry Beret" / "Cream"
5. "Cool" (contains elements of "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough")
6. "Let's Work"
7. "U Got the Look"
8. "Purple Rain"
9. "Let's Go Crazy"
10. "Delirious"
11. "1999"
12. "The Beautiful Ones"
13. "Little Red Corvette"
14. "Kiss"
15. Medley: "When Doves Cry" / "Nasty Girl" / "Sign '☮' the Times" / "Darling Nikki" (Instrumental Interlude) / "777-9311"
16. "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" (Instrumental Interlude)
17. "If I Was Your Girlfriend"
18. "Insatiable"
19. "Scandalous!"
20. "Adore"
21. "A Love Bizarre" (performed with Sheila E.)

Encore

22. "Play That Funky Music"
23. "Controversy" (contains excerpts from "Housequake")
24. "The Glamorous Life" (contains elements of "Soul Sacrifice") (performed with Sheila E.)
25. "Peach" (performed with Sheila E.)
26. "Dance (Disco Heat)"
27. "Baby I'm a Star"
28. "Stratus" (Instrumental Interlude)
29. Medley: "Sometimes It Snows in April" / "Laydown" / "Endorphinmachine" / "She's Always in My Hair" / "Dreamer"
30. "Welcome 2 America"

The Carolinas^[19]

March 24, 2011

1. Medley: "When Doves Cry" / "Nasty Girl" / "Darling Nikki" (Instrumental Interlude) / "Sign '☮' the Times" / "777-9311" / "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World"
2. "Uptown"
3. "Raspberry Beret"
4. "Cream"
5. "Cool" (contains elements of "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough")
6. "Let's Work"
7. "U Got the Look"
8. "Nothing Compares 2 U"
9. "Take Me with U"
10. "Anotherloverholenyohead"
11. "Controversy" (contains elements of "Batdance")
12. "Play That Funky Music"
13. "Which Way Is Up?"
14. "Controversy" (Reprise) (contains excerpts from "Housequake")
15. "I Want to Be Free"
16. "Shhh"
17. "The Beautiful Ones"
18. "Diamonds and Pearls"
19. "Something in the Water (Does Not Compute)"
20. "How Come U Don't Call Me Anymore?"
21. "If I Was Your Girlfriend"
22. "Kiss"
23. "Purple Rain"

Encore

24. "Dance (Disco Heat)"
25. "Baby I'm a Star"

Australia^[20][21]

Sydney—May 11, 2012

1. "Gold"
2. "Jam of the Year
3. "The Song of the Heart"
4. "Let's Go Crazy"
5. "Delirious"
6. "1999"
7. "Little Red Corvette"
8. "Nothing Compares 2 U" (performed with Shelby J.)
9. "Take Me with U"
10. "Raspberry Beret"
11. "Cream"
12. "Cool" (contains elements of "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough")
13. "Sometimes It Snows in April"
14. "Love... Thy Will Be Done"
15. "Mountains" (contains excerpts from "The Dance Electric")
16. Medley: "When Doves Cry" / "Hot Thing" / "Sign '☮' the Times" (contains excerpts from "Jungle Love") / "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World"
17. "Forever in My Life"
18. "I Would Die 4 U
19. "Kiss"

Encore

20. "Purple Rain"
21. "Controversy"
22. "Peach"

Melbourne—May 14, 2012

1. "Gold"
2. "Jam of the Year"
3. "Let's Go Crazy"
4. "Delirious"
5. "1999"
6. "Little Red Corvette"
7. "Nothing Compares 2 U" (performed with Shelby J.)
8. "I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man"
9. "Take Me with U"
10. "Raspberry Beret"
11. "Cream"
12. "Cool" (contains elements of "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough")
13. "Sometimes It Snows in April"
14. "Love... Thy Will Be Done"
15. "Mountains" (contains excerpts from "The Dance Electric")
16. Medley: "When Doves Cry" / "Nasty Girl" / "Darling Nikki" / "Pop Life" / "Sign '☮' the Times" / "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World" / "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)"
17. "Hot Thing"
18. "I Would Die 4 U"
19. "Kiss"

Encore

20. "Purple Rain"
21. "If I Was Your Girlfriend"
22. "She's Always in My Hair"
23. "Dreamer"
24. "Peach"

Tour dates

List of 2010 concerts^[3][10]

Date	City	Country	Venue
December 15, 2010	East Rutherford	United States	Izod Center
December 17, 2010
December 18, 2010	New York City		Madison Square Garden
December 29, 2010

List of 2011 concerts^{[3][22][23][24][25][26]}

Date	City	Country	Venue
January 18, 2011	New York City	United States	Madison Square Garden
February 7, 2011
February 21, 2011	Oakland		Oracle Arena
February 23, 2011
February 24, 2011
March 21, 2011	Columbia		Colonial Life Arena
March 23, 2011	Raleigh		RBC Center
March 24, 2011	Charlotte		Time Warner Cable Arena
March 26, 2011	Greensboro		Greensboro Coliseum
March 28, 2011	Greenville		BI-LO Center
March 30, 2011	North Charleston		North Charleston Coliseum
April 14, 2011[A]	Inglewood		The Forum
April 21, 2011[A]
April 22, 2011[A]
April 23, 2011[A]
April 28, 2011[A]
April 29, 2011[A]
April 30, 2011[A]
May 5, 2011[A]
May 6, 2011[A]
May 7, 2011[A]
May 13, 2011[A]
May 14, 2011[A]
May 18, 2011	Fresno		Save Mart Center
May 19, 2011	San Jose		HP Pavilion
May 21, 2011
May 22, 2011	Sacramento		Power Balance Pavilion
May 27, 2011[A]	Inglewood		The Forum
May 28, 2011[A]
May 29, 2011[A]
June 24, 2011[B]	Montreal	Canada	Métropolis
June 25, 2011[B]
June 30, 2011	Saint-Denis	France	Stade de France
July 2, 2011[C]	Gdynia	Poland	Babie Doły Airfield
July 3, 2011[D]	Beltring	England	Hop Farm Country Park
July 5, 2011	Ghent	Belgium	Sint-Pietersplein
July 6, 2011
July 8, 2011[E]	Rotterdam	Netherlands	Rotterdam Ahoy
July 9, 2011[E]
July 10, 2011[E]
July 13, 2011	Esch-sur-Alzette	Luxembourg	Rockhal
July 15, 2011[F]	Perugia	Italy	Arena Santa Giuliana
July 16, 2011[G]	Lucca		Piazza Napoleone
July 21, 2011	Helsinki	Finland	Hartwall Arena
July 24, 2011	Amsterdam	Netherlands	Melkweg
July 25, 2011
July 26, 2011	Rotterdam		Rotterdam Ahoy
July 28, 2011	Cologne	Germany	Lanxess Arena
July 30, 2011	Malahide	Ireland	Malahide Castle
August 2, 2011	Oslo	Norway	Oslo Spektrum
August 3, 2011
August 6, 2011[H]	Copenhagen	Denmark	10 Øren
August 7, 2011[H]
August 9, 2011[J]	Budapest	Hungary	Óbuda Island
August 12, 2011[K]	Gothenburg	Sweden	Slottsskogen
August 17, 2011	Zürich	Switzerland	Hallenstadion
November 25, 2011	Toronto	Canada	Air Canada Centre
November 26, 2011
November 30, 2011	Halifax		Scotiabank Centre
December 2, 2011	Montreal		Bell Centre
December 3, 2011	Ottawa		Canadian Tire Centre
December 5, 2011	London		Budweiser Gardens
December 8, 2011	Winnipeg		MTS Centre
December 13, 2011	Edmonton		Northlands Coliseum
December 14, 2011	Calgary		Scotiabank Saddledome
December 16, 2011	Vancouver		Rogers Arena
December 17, 2011	Victoria		Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre
December 19, 2011	Tacoma	United States	Tacoma Dome

List of 2012 concerts^[27][28]

Date	City	Country	Venue
May 11, 2012	Sydney	Australia	Qudos Bank Arena
May 12, 2012
May 14, 2012	Melbourne		Rod Laver Arena
May 15, 2012
May 18, 2012	Brisbane		Brisbane Entertainment Centre
May 22, 2012	Sydney		Qudos Bank Arena
May 26, 2012	Brisbane		Brisbane Entertainment Centre
May 30, 2012	Melbourne		Rod Laver Arena
September 24, 2012	Chicago	United States	United Center
September 25, 2012
September 26, 2012

Festivals and other miscellaneous performances

A These concerts were a part of "21-Night Stands"[8] B These concerts were a part of the "Montreal International Jazz Festival"[29] C This concert was a part of the "Heineken Open'er Festival"[30] D This concert was a part of the "Hop Farm Festival"[31] E These concerts were a part of the "North Sea Jazz Festival"[32]

F This concert was a part of the "Umbria Jazz Festival"[33] G This concert was a part of the "Lucca Summer Festival"[33] H These concerts were a part of the "NPG Music and Arts Festival"[34] J This concert was a part of the "Sziget Festival"[35] K This concert was a part of the "Way Out West Festival"[36]

Cancellations and rescheduled shows

December 14, 2010	East Rutherford, New Jersey	Izod Center	Cancelled[10]
February 4, 2011	Dallas	theEvent Tent Complex	Cancelled.[37] The concert was to benefit the Goss-Michael Foundation
July 23, 2011	Oslo, Norway	Oslo Spektrum	Rescheduled to August 2, 2011 due to the 2011 Norway attacks
July 24, 2011	Oslo, Norway	Oslo Spektrum	Rescheduled to August 3, 2011 due to the 2011 Norway attacks
August 4, 2011	Berlin, Germany	O2 World	Cancelled
December 11, 2011	Saskatoon, Saskatchewan	SaskTel Centre	Cancelled

Box office score data

Venue	City	Tickets sold / available	Gross revenue
Madison Square Garden[A]	New York City	70,855 / 72,911 (97%)	$7,592,092[38]
Oracle Arena	Oakland	42,475 / 42,475 (100%)	$4,418,308[39]
Save Mart Center	Fresno	11,918 / 13,028 (91%)	$837,960[40]
Bell Centre	Montreal	8,753 / 10,900 (80%)	$1,113,260[41]
John Labatt Centre	London	8,790 / 9,053 (97%)	$958,695[41]
Halifax Metro Centre	Halifax	10,039 / 10,039 (100%)	$1,000,320[42]
Rexall Place	Edmonton	10,775 / 16,258 (66%)	$1,119,660[43]
Allphones Arena	Sydney	39,827 / 44,118 (90%)	$7,182,190[44]
Rod Laver Arena	Melbourne	42,086 / 42,900 (98%)	$7,540,270[45]
Brisbane Entertainment Centre	Boondall	17,798 / 20,036 (84%)	$3,212,670[46]
TOTAL		263,316 / 281,718 (93%)	$34,975,425

Notes

^A The gross for the January 18th concert at Madison Square Garden placed second on Billboard's "Hot Tours", for the month of January 2011.^[47]

Notes

1.^ The annual Pollstar ranking of the concert industry's top performing artists is tabulated for all worldwide shows, worked between January 1 and June 30, 2011. All ticket sales figures are calculated in U.S. dollars and are based on reported information and extensive research by Pollstar.