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U2 Among All-Star iHeartRadio Music Festival 2016 Lineup, Garth Brooks Determined To Beat U2’s Touring Record

By Stacey Cole
Published on: 19:48 PST, Aug 9, 2016

U2 have been included in the lineup for the iHeartRadio Music Festival 2016, according to the Los Angeles Times. Organizers of the event have announced the lineup for the annual event.

Each year, the lineup of the iHeartRadio Music Festival includes musicians who are most heavily rotated on the FM radio dial. And this year the list of most rotated musicians includes the Irish rock band U2, the “Hotline Bling” singer Drake, the “Toxic” singer Britney Spears, Twenty One Pilots, and others.

iHeartMedia, aka Clear Channel, is producing the festival, which will be held at the T-Mobile arena in Las Vegas from September 23 through September 24. The company, which owns over 800 radio stations in the United States, rotates U2 and Drake’s hits on a daily basis, so it is not surprising that they have been selected to perform at the festival.

Although not as successful as streaming services Spotify and Pandora, iHeartMedia wants to compete with the music company giants by promoting its iHeartRadio streaming app, which already has over 80 million listeners.

But probably the best way to promote its festival is to invite the likes of U2 and Drake to give their hot performances. According to a press announcement, organizers of the festival have invited musicians of all genres and have “a surprise or two” up their sleeve.

The most exciting thing about iHeartRadio festivals is that they often mix musicians who would not normally perform together. For example, imagine a joint performance of U2 and Skrillex, or seeing Drake perform alongside One Direction. Or perhaps, imagine Kanye West performing with the Rolling Stones?

That’s the kind of thing iHeartRadio organizers like to do from time to time during their annual festivals. Apart from U2, Drake and other musicians mentioned above, the lineup also includes Zedd, Usher, Sia, OneRepublic, Florida Georgia Line, Cage the Elephant, and Tears for Fears. Who’s up for a performance between OneRepublic and Zedd?

Meanwhile, U2 could get in big trouble, as Garth Brooks is set to beat the Irish rock band’s touring record, according to UTV Ireland. The country singer, who ended his retirement in February 2014 and several months later launched a world tour with his wife Trisha Yearwood, is very serious about his intentions.

In September of 2014, Brooks held the first concert of his world tour. And ever since then, the country singer has performed in almost 50 North American cities and has sold over 4.5 million tickets, while U2 have the record of 7.3 million tickets.

U2’s all-time attendance record was set during their “360 Tour” from 2009 through 2011. And in his interview with UTV Ireland, Brooks shared that he was convinced he can break that record “for country music’s sake.”

Brooks said that he is 20 months into his tour, and he has already sold 4.5 million tickets, adding that he feels “really lucky” to be at the point where he is now. But he’ll be even luckier if he sells three million more tickets and beats U2’s record.

“If the people keep showing up, so be it. If the people stop showing up I don’t have anything to b***h about – it’s been a great run.”

Brooks admitted that he has no idea why people keep showing up at his concerts, but he is “just happy” they do. But will people keep buying the tickets to help the country singer beat U2’s all-time attendance record?

Brooks had been away from the spotlight for 14 years, which is why his world tour excites many of his fans in the United States. However, is it really enough to break U2’s record?

[Composite image containing photos by Araya Diaz/Getty Images for The Weinstein Company,Neilson Barnard/Getty Images]

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