Maria Becerra had a hunch she’d sell out the Estadio River Plate because of the “hype” surrounding the show — she just didn’t know that it would sell out in record time. According to the singer-songwriter’s team, with more than 500 tickets sold per minute on Wednesday (Oct. 18), the 23-year-old artist will become the first Argentine woman to pack the Nuñez stadium on March 23, 2024.
Ticketing company DF Entertainment’s All Access also confirmed in a social media post that Becerra sold out the venue in less than 90 minutes, noting that she made history in doing so.
“When I found out the sold out I was shocked, I was overflowing with happiness. I’m a calm person,” Becerra told Billboard Español. “But they told me, ‘You’re about to sell out,’ and it had only been an hour. And throughout the day I started to fall in the event that it implied.”
The venue has a capacity of nearly 65,000; other artists who have performed at that venue include The Rolling Stones, Coldplay, Guns N’ Roses, Harry Styles and Michael Jackson, among others.
“That night I had a hard time falling asleep, I kept talking about River, we went to dinner with my choreographer, my managers, my team, all thinking about the ideas we have been thinking about for a long time but now it is a reality and we will start working for a show that is not the end of La Nena de Argentina Tour but something designed for River, something that people will not expect and that they will be amazed with,” assures Becerra.
Fourteen thousand tickets were sold during the Oct. 17 presale, explains José Levy, who is part of Becerra’s management team. Then, a day later during the general sale, 50,000 tickets were sold in an hour and a half. “The first [Argentine] to sing in River and with a career that started in October 2019, this means a lot and gives her a very strong international projection that will make her go down in history as the first artist who at 23 years old reached this enormous achievement.”
What went into the strategy and promotion of the show was also key. Levy cites three major things that led to the sellout. Besides having a good amount of songs, the tickets were also affordable. “Tickets ranged from $10 because the idea was to offer affordable prices in a country that has a very punished economy and at election time with proposals of presidents that do not allow us to visualize if we could later sustain a ticket accessible to all social classes.” He adds, “The third was the marketing strategy, very focused on social media, which is where Maria comes from, playing with TikTok polls, reels with images of other concerts, appealing to the emotions that the public experiences on all platforms.”
Since breaking out in 2019, Becerra has cemented herself as one to watch thanks to her magnetism and versatility. Her mix of pop, cumbia villera, bachata and reggaeton, with lyrics that speak of love, heartbreak and female empowerment, has resonated with audiences both in Argentina and abroad. In 2021, she was nominated for a Latin Grammy for best new artist. To date, she has had three entries on Billboard‘s Hot Latin Songs chart, including her hit with “Qué Más Pues?” with J Balvin, as well as two top 10 hits on Latin Airplay (the No. 1 hit “Te espero” with Prince Royce, and “Éxtasis” with Manuel Turizo at No. 9) and five entries on Latin Rhythm Airplay. Most recently, she collaborated with Enrique Iglesias for a sweet bachata “Así Es La Vida”.
“The other day I was looking at a picture of the women who had filled River in the history of the stadium and it was Tina Turner, Madonna, Miley Cyrus, Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift and me. Seeing myself next to great figures like them gives me goosebumps. And as the days go by, I realize what it is, what it means, not only for me, but for women in the Argentine industry,” Becerra reflects. “I am honored. Of course I feel the pressure to live up to all of them. But people have to know that the show is going to be up to par, that it’s going to be at that level because we are aware of how big it is.”
Becerra is currently in her La Nena de Argentina Tour in South America, with upcoming performances in Uruguay, Colombia and, next year, in Chile at the Viña del Mar Festival.
