Miley Cyrus was hospitalized last month, forcing the singer to postpone several dates on her highly-publicized Bangerz world tour.
But industry analysts say it’s not the fear that the show will be canceled that’s keeping fans away. Instead, they claim sluggish sales on the European leg of the tour are simply the result of overpriced tickets and an act that may be growing stale.
A report from Forbes magazine estimates that Miley has failed to sell out “as many as half” of the remaining concerts on her tour – uncommon for an artist of her stature.
Reviews of her recent show at London’s 02 Arena praised her performance, but noted that there were plenty of empty seats in the crowd.
So how does an artist who’s responsible for two of the most-watched music videos in the history of YouTube fail to find a global concert audience?
Experts say there are a number of factors at play:
First, Miley’s weed-smoking, crotch-grabbing antics have not surprisingly alienated her young fans (and, more importantly, the parents who would be paying for their tickets).
One might think that by this point in Miley’s career, the Hannah Montana worshippers would have been replaced by grown-up fans willing to shell out big bucks to witness the bizarre spectacle of the Bangerz tour.
But while Miley definitely delivers the Gaga-esque weirdness on stage, she doesn’t have Gaga’s string of hits behind her.
Her album sales are also down, and all the giant inflatable dildos in the world are not necessarily enough to make adults drop $100 on nosebleed seats when they’re only familiar with a couple hit singles.
In other words, after this tour is completed, it may be time for Miley to take her persona back to the drawing board, start crafting some hits, and figure out a way to win her audience back.