Extraterrestrial World Tour

The Extraterrestrial World Tour is the third concert tour and second world tour by Chinese singer-songwriter Joker Xue. As of July 2024, the tour has 140 shows across four continents with 130 in Asia, 2 in Europe, 5 in North America, and 3 in Oceania, spanning 9 countries and 61 cities.

All overseas venues are arenas. All venues in mainland China are stadiums, most stops have 2–3 shows in a row with the 18-show finale being the exception with 6 shows at each of the 3 stops.

Background
On July 13, 2021, Xue announced the tour by posting the Extraterrestrial World Tour poster on Weibo. On July 24, at the Chaole Music Festival, Xue shared the tour is both a concert and a story with a lot of "silly plotlines" that should be "extremely fun."

Extraterrestrial World Tour opened in October 2021 with two shows in Suzhou followed by two shows in Guangzhou the next month. In 2022, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many of the announced dates were postponed and only the Haikou concert was successfully held on December 24, 2022. In March 2023, the tour resumed and for the rest of the year, Xue mostly maintained the pace of one stop per week and frequently with several shows per stop.

As of June 2024, Extraterrestrial World Tour spans more than 50 cities, putting Xue's principle of "if I take one more step, you will take one fewer step," meaning he wishes to lessen the burden of travelling to concerts for his fans, into practice

On July 3, 2024, Xue announced on his Weibo that the tour is coming to an end with a finale of 18 shows, 6 shows each at 3 stops in different regions of China: northern (Beijing), southern (Shenzhen), and central (Suzhou).

Concert synopsis
As Xue said, the Extraterrestrial World Tour is both a concert and a story. In it, he transforms into interstellar executive, codename 0717, who was ordered to destroy Earth. However, he is moved by the goodness of humans and sacrifices himself to save them. The concert is interspersed with jokes and the pre-recorded videos are filmed in a comedic manner, showcasing his "zany brand of humour."

Each concert consists of five acts, with pre-recorded videos and talking segments where Xue interacts with the audience. Throughout the concert, positive messaging about treating each other with kindness and improving our world through one small act at a time is conveyed.


 * 1) Pre-recorded Video 1 introduces the "Regulations on the Joint Protection of Space Creatures" which Earth has been found in violation of. Interstellar Executive 0717's arrival on earth is portrayed through songs such as "Extraterrestrial" (天外来物) and "The Return of the Prince" (王子归来). He is there to carry out Earth's destruction. In Talking Segment 1, Xue questions the audience if any of them purchased their tickets via scalpers.
 * 2) Pre-recorded Video 2 mentions that 0717 needs to bring back three Earth species to Interstellar Headquarters. Humans fight over the chance for escape, their selfishness is highlighted through songs such as "Ambition" (野心) and "Animal World" (动物世界). In Talking Segment 2, Xue asks the audience whether they would assist the elderly before transforming into an elderly lady who has fallen down and requires the audience to sing the song "Actor" (演员) in unison to help her get back up. The audience succeeds and their selfless act moves 0717.
 * 3) In Pre-record Video 3, 0717 is in disbelief that he feels such strong emotions toward humans. To figure out why, he travels back in time to see what Earth was like in the past. He is transported to Xue's 2017 I Think I've Seen You Somewhere Tour and through a "Medley" (组曲串烧) of more than 15 songs, 0717 realizes that he was human in his previous life.
 * 4) In Pre-recorded Video 4, the Interstellar Headquarters, impatiently with 0717's lack of progress, send forces to destroy. 0717 successfully negotiates for a delay and expresses his belief that humans can become better through "Turn Waste Into Treasure" (变废为宝) and demonstrate the humans' resolve to improve through Stay Here. However, the Interstellar Headquarters remain set on destroying Earth. 0717 sacrifices himself to protect Earth through Wandering With You (陪你去流浪).
 * 5) The audience brings back Xue by calling his name, who returns with the song "It's Been So Long" (这么久没见). He then reflects back on the story with songs such as "Cooperate" (配合) and "Idea" (念). Finally, Xue bids the audience farewell with "Extraterrestrial" (天外来物).

For overseas shows, the setlist is reduced as are the talking segments due to time constraint and stage setup.

One of the running jokes for Xue's concerts is the "refund" meme that's become a highlight. Anytime Xue says a wrong word, sings the wrong lyrics, or, on one memorable occasion, burps, the audience cheerfully shouts for a "refund" in response.

Stage design
The Extraterrestrial World Tour incorporates the use of a large spaceship above the stage is essential for the interstellar space theme. Before each concert, the production team uses 40 18-meter vans to load and transport parts then works continuously for 8 days using multiple cranes to lift the 30-ton spaceship to a height of 30 meters. Due to the time required for assembly and the weekly tour schedule, two sets of spaceship are used, alternating between tour stops. In addition, there are several other pieces that are central to storytelling, such as the 9-meter-high "Towers of Desire" in the first act, the "Carousel" in the third act that transport 0717 back in time, and the "Tightrope Walking" in the fourth act that symbolizes changes in 0717's emotional state.

The stage is equipped with more than 2,000 lights, 28 sets of LED screens totaling 2,200 square meters, 21 sets of lifting platforms, and 250 computer numerical control motors to create a multi-level progressive layout for 0717's story. The lighting design has been recognized by LIT Lighting Design Awards, MUSE Design Awards and Novum Design Awards. The light sticks used by the audience are made of degradable and recyclable materials, in keeping with the theme of the story.

All of the mainland China venues are outdoor stadiums, consisting a large area that's split into floor and balcony sections, which can be a challenge to provide high-quality experience for everyone. To overcome this, the "Extraterrestrial World Tour" sound design team installs a variety of L-Acoustics speakers around the stadium, including but not limited to K1, K2, Kara, K1-SB, and KS28. Since the Suzhou shows in 2021, the Extraterrestrial World Tour has utilized delay towers to reinforce the main sound system and ensure all audience members have the same sound quality in one of the earliest large-scale use of delay towers in China. The stage return system is made up of 22 L-Acoustics' 115XT HiQs, 4 ARCS IIs, and 4 KS28s while the PA console uses DiGiCo's Quantum 7.

Personnel
Information below is based on concerts held in mainland China and may vary per stop based on scheduling and availability.


 * Producer: Chaoshi Music
 * Organizer: Different at each stop, usually local companies
 * Production Unit: Beijing Showin
 * Music Director: Liu Zhuo
 * Monitor: Zhang Xiaonian
 * PA: Zhang Junjun
 * Dance Team: SDT Show Pro
 * Hair stylist: Chen Chen
 * Makeup artist: Minglang
 * Local police, fire, culture and tourism, transportation, and other governmental departments

Commercial performance
In 2021, Xue was first in comprehensive ranking of concert box office and number of shows of all 2021 tours in China. In 2023, Xue ranked first in artist with highest number of concerts and second in artist with most number of stops among all 2023 tours in China.

Many of the Chinese cities he toured in were categorized by Chinese city tier system as second- and third- tier cities, where he is often the first artist to hold a concert and in doing so, provide a significant boost to the local economy. In 2023, more than 50,000 people attended Xue's concerts in Quzhou, a third-tiered city, and generated 124 million of cumulative tourism revenue, resulting in Quzhou ranking first in cities with the fastest box office growth in 2023. In 2024, Quzhou's News Media Center posted a video on its official Douyin account expressing their gratitude to Xue.

Xue's international stops were also successful. Both of his Kuala Lumpur and Singapore stops had three consecutive shows due to overwhelming demand as originally only one show was announced then a second show was added when the first sold out quickly then a third show was added when the second also sold out quickly. The total gross for the New York and Las Vegas stops was $5.8 million with the total attendance of 21,100, placing Xue at 23 on Billboard's February 2024 Top Tours list.

In June 2023, Hainan Airlines collaborated Chaoshi Music to create exclusive flights for the Extraterrestrial World Tour on a customized plane featuring the concert poster painted on the exterior and details such as lyrics from Xue's songs on the interior for an immersive experience. In July, the Extraterrestrial flights were named one of the “Top 50 Brand Marketing Cases” at the Top 100 Brands Awards Ceremony, hosted by Sina Finance and organized by China Brand Innovation Lab and Midu.

Songs of note
Xue familiarizes himself with local dialect, customs, and/or landmarks at each stop and incorporates them into certain songs that have become highlights that attendees look forward to.


 * "The Return of the Prince" (王子归来) – Last line changed at each stop to ask "Are you at...?" as a greeting or to comment on local weather


 * "What Do You Want From Me" (你还要我怎样) – Verse updated at each stop to reflect local customs/landmarks

For the 99th and 100th concert in Luoyang of the Extraterrestrial World Tour, Xue invited Peking Opera performer Zhang Zixi for a limited special performance of "City of Luo" (洛城). Xue said at the concert that only this city has this song.