There has been a lot of speculation recently about whether rappers Lil Baby and Chris Brown will be teaming up for a joint tour in the near future. Lil Baby is one of the hottest young rappers in hip hop right now, coming off the release of his acclaimed new album It’s Only Me. Chris Brown is a veteran superstar who remains one of the most popular R&B singers today. A tour featuring these two talents would likely draw a lot of buzz and appeal to both rap and R&B fans.
Rumors of a Joint Tour
In the last few months, there have been various unconfirmed reports that Lil Baby and Chris Brown plan to announce a joint tour for 2023. Back in June 2022, Lil Baby posted a video on his Instagram story showing him vibing to Chris Brown’s music in the studio, which sparked fan excitement about the potential for a collaboration. Neither artist has officially confirmed anything yet, but the rumors keep persisting.
In September 2022, both Lil Baby and Chris Brown promoted each other’s new singles on social media and sent fans into a frenzy speculating that it was a tease for an upcoming joint tour announcement. With Lil Baby promoting Chris Brown’s new single “Under the Influence” and Chris Brown returning the favor for Lil Baby’s new single “Detox,” it seemed like the pair were gearing up for something big.
Most recently, Lil Baby posted a cryptic Instagram story in October 2022 with the date “2023” and a thinking emoji, further fueling assumptions among fans that he has a big tour announcement on the horizon for next year. Many believe that announcement could involve Chris Brown.
Collaborations Between the Two Artists
While Lil Baby and Chris Brown have not officially confirmed anything about a joint tour, the two artists do have an established history of successful collaborations that makes the rumors seem more plausible.
In 2020, Lil Baby and Chris Brown teamed up for the hit single “Go Crazy,” which appeared on Lil Baby’s album My Turn and rose to Number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The duo clearly had excellent creative chemistry together in the studio.
They built on that chemistry with another collaboration in October 2021 on the song “On Me” from Chris Brown’s album Breezy. The track marked the first time they appeared on Chris Brown’s album together. Both songs performed very well commercially, showing the pair’s ability to make hits.
Their musical collaborations indicate they enjoy working together and have an artistic synergy that would translate well to the stage for a high-energy co-headlining tour.
Both Artists Have New Music
The timing is also right for Lil Baby and Chris Brown to hit the road together in support of new projects. Lil Baby just released his third studio album It’s Only Me in October 2022, which quickly reached #1 on the Billboard 200 chart in its first week.
Meanwhile, Chris Brown dropped his 10th studio album Breezy in June 2022, which debuted at #4 on the Billboard 200. A joint tour would allow both artists the chance to promote these new albums that their fans are excited about.
| Artist | New Album | Release Date |
|---|---|---|
| Lil Baby | It’s Only Me | October 2022 |
| Chris Brown | Breezy | June 2022 |
Capitalizing on the buzz around their fresh projects by touring together in 2023 would make strategic sense at this point in both Lil Baby and Chris Brown’s careers. They could support their latest music and draw bigger audiences by combining forces.
Both Have Experience Co-Headlining Tours
Importantly, both Lil Baby and Chris Brown already have experienced success co-headlining tours alongside other artists, so they know what it takes to collaborate on stage.
Back in 2021, Lil Baby co-headlined the Back Outside Tour with Lil Durk, performing together across the country to enthused, sold-out crowds. Sharing the stage clearly amplified the popularity and energy compared to if Lil Baby was touring solo.
As for Chris Brown, some of his most iconic tours have been as a co-headliner. In 2015, he teamed up with Trey Songz for the Between the Sheets Tour. In 2017, he and 50 Cent dominated arenas on the The Party Tour. And in 2019, he joined forces with Nicki Minaj for the Nicki Wrld Tour across North America and Europe. Chris Brown has seen firsthand how co-headlining tours can take his fame and shows to another level.
Their proven track records as strong co-headliners hint that Lil Baby and Chris Brown sharing the stage could be a massive success. Their complementary fanbases would enable larger venues and greater reach together.
Both Artists Have Hinted at Touring Plans for 2023
Another factor generating buzz about a potential Lil Baby and Chris Brown joint tour is that they both have hinted more broadly at touring plans for 2023. Lil Baby posted the cryptic 2023 Instagram story already mentioned, while Chris Brown recently tweeted more explicitly about returning to the road:
“Next year I’m going on Tour!” -@chrisbrown
Neither post outright confirmed the rumors about joining forces. However, their known interest in touring next year keeps speculation about their team-up alive as a realistic possibility coming soon.
Potential Setlists
If Lil Baby and Chris Brown do move forward with a massive joint tour in 2023, fans are already imagining what that could look like and the potential dream setlists full of smash hits and collaborations.
Here is one possible setlist projection, with the two superstars trading off mini-sets of their solo hits mixed with duets between the two:
| Lil Baby | Chris Brown |
|---|---|
| Yes Indeed | Run It! |
| The Bigger Picture | Kiss Kiss |
| Emotionally Scarred | With You |
| Go Crazy (duet) | Yo (Excuse Me Miss) |
| We Paid | On Me (duet) |
Both artists have such extensive catalogs of hits to choose from that each tour stop could feature a unique, thrilling setlist. There are also so many potential collaborations they could incorporate outside of their own duets like “Go Crazy” and “On Me.”
Chris Brown has done songs with artists like Drake, Usher, and Young Thug who are also close with Lil Baby, raising chances for special guest appearances. Lil Baby could also bring out his Quality Control labelmates like City Girls, Migos, or Lil Yachty at certain shows. The opportunities for surprise moments with this fantasy co-headlining bill would be endless.
How Quickly Tour Could Sell Out
Based on the enormous popularity of both Lil Baby and Chris Brown plus the prospect of them touring together for the first time, demand to see this show would be massive. Most likely a tour between the two superstars would sell out very quickly once dates officially got announced.
Both artists have proven their ability to sell out arenas fast with their tours in recent years. For example, Lil Baby’s The New Generation Tour back in 2019 sold out consecutive dates at 20,000 seat State Farm Arena in Atlanta in less than 10 minutes total. Similarly, almost all dates on Chris Brown’s 2019 IndiGOAT Tour sold out right away, including three nights at The Forum in Los Angeles which holds about 17,500.
Now with their powers combined, Lil Baby and Chris Brown could easily shatter their previous ticket sales records and probably upgrade to playing mostly stadiums instead of just arenas on their hypothetical 2023 venture. Pre-sale access codes and fast fingers on Ticketmaster would be essential to secure seats before the nationwide blink-of-an-eye sellouts.
Given their tremendous popularity as touring acts individually, together Lil Baby and Chris Brown could surpass even the Watch the Throne Tour in terms of hype, production value and sheer demand.
How Much Tickets Could Cost
Headlining arena tours in 2022 by either Lil Baby or Chris Brown have seen average ticket prices ranging from $150 to $300, depending on the city and seat location. For premium floor seats or VIP packages, prices can climb over $500 per ticket.
If they end up announcing a joint tour, fans can expect the addition of Chris Brown onto Lil Baby’s shows and vice versa to drive up prices across the board approximately 20-30% higher. A Lil Baby and Chris Brown premium floor seat that would normally be $300 if they toured solo could jump up to $375 or more for their co-headlining shows.
An increased number of multi-act festival sets next summer could also make single headlining tour stops more of a hot commodity, further spiking demand. Overall, a premium Lil Baby and Chris Brown concert experience in 2023 could end up costing $400 or more all-in after fees.
Of course, if they play bigger stadiums instead of arenas on their joint venture, cheaper upper deck or nosebleed tickets could remain in the $60-$100 range. But for the best seats closest to the action, fans need to be budgeting over $400 if this dream pairing goes on the road.
How Long the Tour Could Last
Major joint tours like this typically embark on legs across North America, Europe, and Australia lasting 4-5 months total to satisfy demand in as many markets as possible.
A Lil Baby and Chris Brown co-headlining tour in 2023 would likely need to be at least 3-4 months long minimum, possibly extending to 5 months if promoters can lock down enough stadiums and the pair have open schedules.
Chris Brown’s last major tour was the Heartbreak on a Full Moon Tour in 2017-2018, which spanned 3 months and 40 dates across North America, Europe, Australia and Asia. He hit major markets like Los Angeles, London, and Paris multiple times on the routing.
For Lil Baby, his highest-grossing solo trek was also about 3 months between September and December 2019. Expanding his tour plans with Chris Brown could allow hit even more cities for longer next time around.
Realistically, staging this epic co-headlining tour would require 4 straight months of shows minimum to capture as much demand as possible. July through October 2023, allowing for some breaks built in, would be the sweet spot if they make it happen.
Collaboration on Merchandise
Another huge opportunity with Lil Baby and Chris Brown teaming up for a tour would be creating special co-branded merchandise and apparel. Each show would need unique tour shirts, hoodies, hats, and more featuring both artists.
Some ideas for collaborative merch could include a shirt with the tour name on the front and dates down the sleeves, a hoodie featuring both artists on either side, and special hats that are half Lil Baby styled, half Chris Brown styled. The possibilities are endless.
Dropping small merchandise capsules on their online stores periodically leading up to the tour would further build anticipation. Limited VIP merchandise available only to fans who buy the highest ticket tier could also drive revenue.
By combining their merchandising power, Lil Baby and Chris Brown have the potential to break tour merch records. The 2011 Watch the Throne Tour by Jay Z and Kanye West set high standards after generating over $10 million in merchandise alone.
How Much Money the Tour Could Generate
A Lil Baby and Chris Brown joint arena and stadium tour across North America, Europe, and Australia in 2023 could easily gross over $200 million.
For context, Lil Baby’s solo Back Outside Tour with Lil Durk grossed around $46 million according to Billboard Boxscore. And Chris Brown’s solo IndiGOAT Tour in 2019 pulled in roughly $45 million. Together, their power could at least double to $100 million or more for North America.
When extrapolated across 3-4 months in the biggest overseas markets like the UK and Australia too, a final gross reaching $200 million starts looking like a realistic projection if they optimize routing and production.
The 2018 On the Run II Tour co-headlined by Jay Z and Beyonce set some benchmarks after grossing $253.5 million total, according to Pollstar. A Lil Baby and Chris Brown pairing has the talent and popularity to potentially approach similar blockbuster numbers.
After covering all touring costs like promotion, production, crew, and venues, each artist could stand to add over $50 million in net income from their time on the road together. The numbers would stack up quickly between packed shows, premium ticket prices, and insane merch sales.
Documentary Potential
Because of how historic a Lil Baby and Chris Brown joint tour would be at this point in their careers, there would likely be plans to document the experience through a special tour documentary.
Major projects like Beyonce and Jay Z’s On The Run Tour, Drake and Future’s Summer Sixteen Tour, and Travis Scott’s Astroworld Tour all got the documentary treatment as well. It’s a great way for artists to give fans VIP behind-the-scenes access from on the road.
Filming their collaborative creative process in the studio, rehearsals, touring preparations, and showing the actual stadium shows could make for an amazing documentary. It would provide an invaluable, candid snapshot of Lil Baby and Chris Brown’s journey together as global superstars.
Down the line after the tour wraps, they could even develop the documentary into a full concert film for theatrical release, similar to what Beyonce did turning her Homecoming Coachella performance into an acclaimed Netflix film. The potential content options with Lil Baby and Chris Brown are limitless.
Capturing this special cultural moment through a documentary project would give their core fans priceless memories and go down as a timeless career milestone immortalizing their partnership.
Conclusion
While Lil Baby and Chris Brown have not yet officially announced they will be joining forces for a major co-headlining tour in 2023, the rumors are certainly building based on their timing and history together. The pairing would instantly become one of the hottest tickets around based on their commercial success, devoted fanbases, and proven chemistry sharing the stage.
Both superstar rappers are coming off new albums that could use support on the road. Meanwhile, their previous collaborations have shown they thrive musically together, employing complementary styles. Supporting one another on a months-long trek across North America, Europe, and Australia covering all the biggest markets would allow Lil Baby and Chris Brown to take their fame to new heights while making millions in the process.
Special moments like potential surprise guest features, unique dual-branded merch collections, and an epic tour documentary would provide added long-term value beyond just the can’t-miss concerts. Fans are already fantasizing over what a Lil Baby and Chris Brown joint tour could look like if it finally comes together for 2023.
The rumors seem increasingly credible and the stars may be aligning for it to happen soon. Once concrete Lil Baby and Chris Brown 2023 tour dates inevitably get announced, no doubt it will instantly become the hottest ticket around and sell out arenas everywhere almost instantly.
