Kendrick Lamar‘s new album Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers has hit the top spot in the US Billboard album charts, with the biggest first-week sales in 2022 so far.
The album was released on May 13, and narrowly missed out on the UK Number One album to Florence + The Machine‘s Dance Fever after a heated chart battle.
In the US, Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers became Lamar’s fourth album to hit Number One on the Billboard 200, becoming the fastest-selling album of the year so far, selling 295,500 equivalent album units across its first week. According to Billboard, the album breaks a record set only the previous week by Bad Bunny‘s new album Un Verano Sin Ti.
In a five-star review, NME called Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers a “cathartic, soul-baring autobiography” that “serves up vignettes about what it’s like to be a Black adult whose trauma still haunts them. In laying his soul bare, he hopes we realise how we can set ourselves free from generational curses too. This album is as much about struggle as it is freedom, and what a beautiful sentiment that is.”
Later this year, Lamar will tour the world on ‘The Big Steppers’ tour. The jaunt will kick off with a raft of dates in the US on July 19 before reaching European and UK shores in October and November, which include two shows at The O2 in London on November 7-8. See the full list of dates below.
Buy or stream Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers.
‘The Big Steppers’ North American dates:
July 19 – Oklahoma City, OK – Paycom Center
July 21 – Austin, TX – Moody Center
July 22 – Houston, TX – Toyota Center
July 23 – Dallas, TX – American Airlines Center
July 24 – Miami, FL – Rolling Loud
July 27 – Tampa, FL – Amalie Arena
July 29 – New Orleans, LA – Smoothie King Center
July 30 – Atlanta, GA – State Farm Arena
July 31 – Nashville, TN – Bridgestone Arena
August 2 – Charlotte, NC – Spectrum Center
August 4 – Washington, DC – Capital One Arena
August 5 – Brooklyn, NY – Barclays Center
August 6 – Brooklyn, NY – Barclays Center
August 7 – Long Island, NY – UBS Arena
August 9 – Philadelphia, PA – Wells Fargo Center
August 10 – Boston, MA – TD Garden
August 12 – Toronto, ON – Scotiabank Arena
August 13 – Toronto, ON Scotiabank Arena
August 14 – Detroit, MI – Little Caesars Arena
August 16 – Columbus, OH – Schottenstein Center
August 18 – Milwaukee, WI – Fiserv Forum
August 19 – Chicago, IL – United Center
August 20 – Minneapolis, MN – Xcel Energy Center
August 21 – Kansas City, MO – T-Mobile Center
August 23 – Denver, CO – Ball Arena
August 24 – Salt Lake City, UT – Vivint Smart Home Arena
August 26 – Portland, OR – Moda Center
August 27 – Seattle, WA – Climate Pledge Arena
August 28 – Vancouver, BC – Rogers Arena
August 30 – Sacramento, CA – Golden 1 Center
August 31 – Oakland, CA – Oakland Arena
September 1 – Oakland, CA – Oakland Arena
September 6 – San Diego, CA – Viejas Arena at San Diego State University
September 7 – Anaheim, CA – Honda Center
September 9 – Las Vegas, NV – T-Mobile Arena
September 10 – Phoenix, AZ – Footprint Center
September 14 – Los Angeles, CA – Crypto.com Arena
September 15 – Los Angeles, CA – Crypto.com Arena
UK & European dates:
October 7 – Amsterdam, NL – Ziggo Dome
October 10 – Prague, CZ – O2 Arena
October 11 – Berlin, DE – Mercedes-Benz Arena
October 13 – Hamburg, DE – Barclays Arena
October 15 – Copenhagen, DK – Royal Arena
October 17 – Stockholm, SE – Avicii Arena
October 19 – Oslo, NO – Telenor Arena
October 21 – Paris, FR – Accor Arena
October 24 – Stuttgart, DE – Scheleyerhalle
October 25 – Zurich, CH – Hallenstadion
October 26 – Laussane, CH – Vaudoise Aréna
October 28 – Antwerp, BE – Sportpaleis
October 30 – Cologne, DE – Lanxess Arena
October 31 – Frankfurt, DE – Festhalle
November 2 – Glasgow, UK – OVO Hydro
November 3 – Leeds, UK – First Direct Arena
November 4 – Newcastle, UK – Utilita Arena
November 5 – Birmingham, UK – Utilita Arena
November 7 – London, UK – The O2
November 8 – London, UK – The O2
November 13 – Dublin, IE – 3Arena
November 16 – Manchester, UK – AO Arena
Australia &New Zealand dates:
December 1 – Perth, AUS – RAC Arena
December 4 – Melbourne, AUS – Rod Laver Arena
December 8 – Sydney, AUS – Qudos Bank Arena
December 12 – Brisbane, AUS – Entertainment Center
December 16 – Auckland, NZ – Spark Arena