NEW YORK (AP) — For Harry Styles’ dedicated audience, it is the can’t-miss event of the year: Tens of thousands have descended on New York City’s Madison Square Garden each night of his 30-date residency, rushing to catch the show before it concludes Halloween weekend.
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it → miss → show
The stint follows the artist’s 2022 blockbuster run, when he performed 15 consecutive nights at the famous arena.
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he → follow → arena
And he’s not the only one embracing the format.
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he → ’ → format
Residencies in Las Vegas, once viewed as the final stop at the end of a long career, have attracted younger performers like Usher, Katy Perry and Lady Gaga.
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Residencies → view → Usher
In 2024, Adele embarked on a 10-date Munich residency.
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Adele → embark → residency
And last year, Bad Bunny’s 31-date residency in Puerto Rico single-handedly boosted the island’s fragile economy, generating over $200 million while extending his efforts to elevate the U.S. territory’s global profile.
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residency → boost → profile
Celine Dion, who holds the record for the highest-grossing residency in Vegas, recently embarked on one just outside Paris.
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who → hold → Paris
It’s her first concert series since revealing her diagnosis with stiff-person syndrome.
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It → ’ → syndrome
Industry insiders and artists alike say there are many reasons why residencies have taken hold in the music business, despite arguments that the format may shift costs to fans who could save money attending a tour in their hometown rather than spending the cash on travel.
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who → say → travel
Residencies fulfill evolving needs
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Residencies → fulfill → needs
Residencies aren’t exactly a novel concept, explains Mitch Rose, Creative Artists Agency’s head of North American touring, who represents artists including Styles and Perry.
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who → explain → Styles
“Go back in time to early Vegas, in the ‘60s when Frank Sinatra had a residency and Tony Bennett had a residency,” he said.
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he → go → residency
“They played multiple shows across a year at a hotel.
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They → play → hotel
Over time, however, Vegas residencies became synonymous with a particular kind of artist: one close to retiring.
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residencies → become → artist
That changed in the 2000s, when Dion revitalized the format with her yearslong “A New Day …” and “Celine” runs.
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Dion → change → runs
“Most people thought we were crazy,” he said, noting the expense.
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he → think → expense
But it worked.
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it → work → ?
, Dion grossed $681.3 million, according to Billboard.
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Dion → gross → Billboard
Rose says attendees treat them like festivals: destination experiences.
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attendees → say → festivals
“Think of Coachella,” he says.
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he → think → Coachella
“People from all around the world come to the desert mid-April to share an experience.
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People → come → experience
When we announced Harry’s residency, the Garden was the only place in America that we were playing in 2026.
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we → announce → 2026
And often, residencies inspire artist pop-up shops and fan meetups, adding to the festival-like atmosphere.
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residencies → inspire → atmosphere
Both artists and the industry benefit
R&B singer Usher hosted his popular “Usher: My Way The Vegas Residency” in 2022 and 2023, part of a high-profile run that included a 2024 Super Bowl halftime show.
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that → host → show
At the time, he told The Associated Press that part of the appeal was the consistency.
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part → tell → appeal
“I like the idea of what I’ve found in Las Vegas.
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I → like → Vegas
It gives me an opportunity to settle.
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It → give → opportunity
I have children now.
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I → have → children
I got a life,” he said.
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he → got → life
Residencies save on the major expense of transporting production, people and equipment, Meglen said.
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Meglen → save → production
“If you do a residency in one city, you’re not on an airplane or in a bus.
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you → do → bus
It’s good mental healthcare for the artist,” Rose said.
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Rose → ’ → artist
Residencies also offer an opportunity to develop massive stage productions that don’t have to be hauled around the world.
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that → offer → world
Nowhere is that more clear than at the 516-foot-wide (157-meter) Sphere in Las Vegas, with its state-of-the-art technological attractions and high-resolution LED screen that wraps halfway around a 17,500-seat audience.
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that → wrap → audience
In 2026, Carín León became the first Latino artist to hold a residency there.
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León → become → residency
“It’s a venue that lets you express a lot of stuff because of all of the tools,” he said.
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he → ’ → tools
Some say residencies shift expenses to the fans
Styles’ New York audience spends anywhere from under $100 to $1,000 to attend, not counting the cost of travel for out-of-towners.
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audience → say → towners
“I understand why residencies make sense for an artist and why it would be less stressful and make their lives easier.
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lives → understand → artist
But as a fan, I don’t understand how they cost as much money as they do,” said Sara Feigin, a Styles fan and New York-based photographer.
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Feigin → understand → money
“You’re playing over 30 days at the same venue, why is this $300?”
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this → play → venue
…and 14 more, not listed.
The Aporia
