Jay-Z Rakes In Over 9Mil on BluePrint 3 Tour!

Billboard made a recent tally of 2010's top grossing shows thus far, and Jay-Z's Blueprint 3 tour took eight of the top 35 spots. Of the eight, Jiggaman's best-selling show closed out at #10 overall after it grossed $1,322,831.

To give some added perspective on how much an artist can make in two weeks of touring, Jay-Z's tour, which featured Jeezy and Trey Songz, grossed a total of $9,731,218 between March 11-24. Hov's recent deal with concert-giant Live Nation, who famously signed him to a "360 deal" worth a reported $150 million, and also organized his 2008 tour with Mary J. Blige, which grossed $34.5 million, is likely responsible for the rapper's high live performance profits.

"With everything else going on in his career, maybe he hadn't focused on tours as much as he could have,"

a Live Nation VP told Billboard.

"But we always knew he was an amazing live artist and the kind of artist we could work with to get to where we needed to be on the live side."

Jay's next day is his headlining gig at California's Coachella Festival, which takes place on April 16, before he heads out to Europe and Japan.

Jay-Z & Rihanna Super Bowl Opening "Run This Town" [VIDEO]

Jay-Z Swarovksi Crystals Self-Portrait: 1Million Dollars

A commissioned piece of Jay-Z, with 22,500 Swarovksi crystals on perspex, created by artist Adrian Firth, was unveiled to coincide with the release of Jay-Z’s album, Blueprint 3, and his UK tour.

London-based Gemstone Creative is the brainchild of co-founders Mark Hirschel and Sarah Sultman, who spent over a year assembling ateam of renowned mosaic artists, specialist jewelers and stone setters, and skilled craftsmen to create complex, contemporary, luxury mosaic pieces.

The company can take any image and recreate it as an extraordinary bejeweled portrait.

The Jay-Z piece is thought to cost a cool $1 million.

Trey Songz Joins Jay-Z On Tour!

Trey Songz has been added to Jay-Z's "Blueprint 3" tour, an Atlantic Records representative confirms.

Joining Young Jeezy, who is also a supporting act, Songz will open the second leg of the stateside trek starting Feb. 20 at the Bank Atlantic Center in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Songz is currently scheduled to perform all 23 dates, wrapping up March 27 at the Pearl Concert Theater in Las Vegas.

Jay-Z's "Blueprint 3" has moved 1.5 million units, and was released on Roc Nation with distribution from Atlantic Records.

CHECK OUT THE DATES BELOW...

• February 20 - Bank Atlantic Center, Sunrise, FL
• February 22 - Toyota Center, Houston, TX
• February 23 - American Airlines Center, Dallas, TX
• February 25 - New Orleans Arena, New Orleans, LA
• February 27 - Philips Arena, Atlanta, GA
• February 28 - Greensboro Coliseum Complex, Greensboro, NC
• March 2 - Madison Square Garden, New York, NY
• March 3 - Verizon Center, Washington, DC
• March 5 - Mohegan Sun, Uncasville, CT
• March 6 - Izod Center, East Rutherford, NJ
• March 7 - Scope Arena, Norfolk, VA
• March 11 - TD Garden, Boston, MA
• March 12 - Nassau Coliseum, Uniondale, NY
• March 14 - The Palace of Auburn Hills, Detroit, MI
• March 16 - Mellon Arena, Pittsburgh, PA
• March 18 - United Center, Chicago, IL
• March 19 - Scottrade Center, St. Louis, MO
• March 20 - Conseco Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, IN
• March 22 - Pepsi Center, Denver, CO
• March 24 - HP Pavilion, San Jose, CA
• March 26 - Staples Center, Los Angeles, CA

Jay-Z & Jaguar Team Up For Next Video.

Jaguar announced at the LA Auto Show that the 2011 XJ luxury sedan will be featured in JAY-Z's next video featuring Swizz beatz, "On to the Next One," from his The Blueprint 3 album. Jaguar showed a 60-second trailer chronicling the XJ's role in the video at their Los Angeles Jaguar XJ launch party at Milk Studios Los Angeles.

"JAY-Z is an icon who has blazed an unprecedented path through music, fashion, business and sports; making his video "On To The Next One" the absolutely right vehicle for the all-new 2011 Jaguar XJ to make its global entertainment industry debut," said Mike O' Driscoll, Managing Director of Jaguar Cars. "Just as the concept of the video speaks to success and the birth of new ideas, all-new XJ is a breakthrough luxury automobile that we designed to elevate the luxury car experience and create a new automotive icon for style and indulgence."

The 2011 Jaguar XJ will go on sale in North America in April 2010.

Jay-Z Announces 2010 North American Tour & "Empire State of Mind PT2"

Jay-Z has announced the second leg of his North American tour in support of his latest album, "Blueprint 3." The tour will begin on Feb. 22, 2010, in Houston, Texas, making stops in Dallas, New Orleans, Atlanta and Boston before ending on March 26 in Los Angeles' Staple Center. Jay-Z will be joined by former Def Jam labelmate Young Jeezy, who is scheduled to open all dates.

Tickets go on sale on Nov. 13 on LiveNation.com, while Citi cardmembers have access to presale tickets beginning Nov. 10 at 10 a.m. local time.

For complete presale details visit citiprivatepass.com. Citi cardmembers will also have access to VIP Ticket Packages that include VIP Lounge seats, personal concierge, a private pre-show VIP party and more.

Additional dates and on-sale information for the second leg and will be announced in coming days for planned stops in East Rutherford, Uniondale, Atlantic City and Detroit.



In related news, the remix "Empire State of Mind Pt. 2" will include a new Jay-Z verse and will appear on Alicia Keys' upcoming "Element of Freedom" album, slated for a Dec. 15 release on J Records.

Here are the dates for the second leg of Jay-Z's "Blueprint 3" Tour 2010:

Previously announced dates:


Nov 7: Fresno, CA (Fresno State University/Save Mart Center)
Nov 8: Los Angeles,CA (UCLA/Pauley Pavilion)
Nov 10: Austin, TX (University of Texas at Austin/Frank Erwin Center)
Nov 12: Champaign, IL (University of Illinois/Assembly Hall)

Newly announced dates:


Feb 22: Houston, TX (Toyota Center)
Feb 23: Dallas, TX (American Airlines Center)
Feb 25: New Orleans, LA (New Orleans Arena)
Feb 27: Atlanta, GA (Philips Arena)
Feb 28: Greensboro, NC (Greensboro Coliseum Complex)
Mar 03: Washington, DC (Verizon Center)
Mar 07: Norfolk, VA (Scope Arena)
Mar 11: Boston, MA (TD Garden)
Mar 16: Pittsburgh, PA (Mellon Arena)
Mar 19: St. Louis, MO (Scottrade Center)
Mar 20: Indianapolis, IN (Conseco Fieldhouse)
Mar 22: Denver, CO (Pepsi Center)
Mar 24: San Jose, CA (HP Pavilion)
Mar 26: Los Angeles, CA (Staples Center)

More cities and dates will be announced.

Jay-Z Reveals Supporting Acts For Blueprint 3 Tour!

Jay-Z has revealed the supporting acts for his upcoming tour for the Blueprint 3.

Jay will be joined on the road by hip-hop group N.E.R.D. featuring Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo of top production unit The Neptunes. Additional support will come from young rappers Wale and J. Cole.

Since last check, a few dates have been added to the tour, which kicks off Oct. 9 in State College, PA, on the campus of Penn State. The trek will visit a mix of college campuses and traditional venues throughout its six-week run, including newly added shows in Ypsilanti, MI (10/21); Philadelphia (10/23); Fresno, CA (11/7); and Lubbock, TX (11/21). Details are included below.

October 2009
9 - State College, PA - Bryce Jordan Center
10 - Highland Heights, KY - Bank of Kentucky Center
13 - Edmonton, Alberta - Rexall Place
14 - Calgary, Alberta - Pengrowth Saddledome
15 - Kelowna, British Columbia - Prospera Place
16 - Vancouver, British Columbia - General Motors Place
17 - Seattle, WA - Key Arena
21 - Ypsilanti, MI - Convocation Center at Eastern Michigan University
23 - Philadelphia, PA - Wachovia Center
24 - Providence, RI - Dunkin Donuts Center
25 - Amherst, MA - Mullins Center
27 - Baltimore, MD - 1st Mariner Arena
28 - Columbus, OH - Value City Arena
29 - London, Ontario - John Labatt Centre
30 - Montreal, Quebec - Bell Centre
31 - Toronto, Ontario - Air Canada Centre

November 2009
1 - Ottawa, Ontario - Scotiabank Place
7 - Fresno, CA - Save Mart Center
12 - Champaign, IL - University of Illinois - Assembly Hall
19 - Albuquerque, NM - Tingley Coliseum
20 - El Paso, TX - Don Haskins Center
21 - Lubbock, TX - United Spirit Arena
22 - Austin, TX - Frank Erwin Center Arena