SMTOWN Live 2025 in Mexico Struggles to Fill Seats: Even With A-List Lineup?
On May 9, the SMTOWN Live 2025: The Culture, the Future world tour will stop in Mexico City at Estadio GNP Seguros, a stadium with a capacity ranging from 50,000 to 65,000 seats. Initially, SM Entertainment planned to expand the seating to 70,000; however, current ticket sales have fallen short of expectations.
SMTOWN Concert Faces Low Ticket Sales Despite Star-Studded Lineup
Based on available seating charts from ticket distributors, it is estimated that only around 30,000 tickets have been sold so far barely half the stadium’s capacity. With just about a week left until the event, there is growing concern that SM artists may have to perform in front of tens of thousands of empty seats.
Several factors are believed to contribute to the disappointing ticket sales. Although the lineup includes major names such as TVXQ, SHINee (Key and Minho), aespa, Red Velvet (excluding Wendy and Yeri), EXO (Suho and Chanyeol), NCT, and RIIZE, many of these groups’ golden eras have passed, especially outside of Asia. While these artists still hold strong recognition, their recent activities have not achieved major crossover success among the general public, limiting their drawing power beyond dedicated fans.
Moreover, key figures like Taeyeon, who remains highly popular even among non-fans, will not be attending. Taeyeon’s absence is reportedly tied to longstanding tensions between her and SM Entertainment.
Fans Criticize Ticket Prices and Lineup Strategy
Although groups like aespa, RIIZE, and NCT maintain large active fandoms, the concert format, offering only a few songs per artist. has discouraged some fans from purchasing expensive tickets. Many expressed a preference for attending solo concerts where they can enjoy a full setlist from their favorite group.
Ticket pricing has also drawn criticism. The lowest-priced seats are around 42 USD, while premium seats reach up to 1,400 USD. Fans noted that better views are only possible from the more expensive sections. By comparison, ticket prices for the Seoul concerts were far more affordable, with the highest tier costing approximately 135 USD.
In the U.S., the May 11 show in Los Angeles faces similar challenges regarding high ticket prices. In comparison to major international artists such as Beyoncé and Lady Gaga, SMTOWN’s ticket prices are only slightly lower, but when compared to acts like Coldplay, SMTOWN’s prices are significantly higSMTOWN Live 2025 in Mexico Struggles to Fill Seatsher.
