With two Blaisdell Arena concerts sold out — the second in less than four hours on Friday — hundreds, perhaps thousands, of Janet Jackson fans in Hawaii are crossing their fingers and hoping that the Grammy Award-winning "diva" will decide to do a third concert when her Unbreakable World Tour comes to Honolulu in November.
The twin sellouts put Jackson on pace to match the sales racked up by Diana Ross earlier this month with two shows in Blaisdell Arena and another two at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center. The record-holder in terms of sellouts in recent years, Bruno Mars, sold out three Blaisdell Arena concerts in a little more than three hours in 2014.
Jackson’s co-promoters — Live Nation, Rhythm Nation, Tommy Meharey and BAMP Project — announced Wednesday that Jackson’s Nov. 12 concert at Blaisdell Arena was sold out and that Jackson would be doing a second concert Nov. 13.
Tickets for the second show went on sale at 10 a.m. Friday and were restricted to in-person only at the Blaisdell Box Office and online to buyers with Hawaii residential ZIP codes and American Express card members. All buyers were limited to a maximum of eight tickets each.
The first person in line at the box office was Ron Takamoto, who said he’d been waiting since 3:45 p.m. Thursday.
Being first to camp out at the box office doesn’t always mean you’ll be first to actually buy tickets, but Takamoto had been given token No. 1 and got first choice when ticket sales started.
"I’ve been lucky," he said.
Takamoto said he planned to purchase the "so-called second most expensive (tickets), which (are) $125, which is good enough for me and my friends. We’re allowed eight tickets per person, so I’m buying for them."
Takamoto got eight seats in the row he wanted.
Things also went well for Kevin Santos and his wife, Dezer-Ray, who were second in line and had been waiting almost as long as Takamoto.
"My family is waiting. They’ve been texting me all morning, eagerly awaiting," he said. "We look forward to these type of events. You don’t have too many A-class celebrities coming in, so when you get the opportunity you make the best of it. It just so happened that my schedule allowed me to be here."
Santos got his eight tickets "17 rows back dead center."
While Takamoto and Santos got the ticket choices they wanted, Jaydee Passion, two spaces behind them, was disappointed to find that no front-row seats were available when her turn came. Passion had already purchased tickets for the first sold-out concert, but she had been at the box office since 11:30 p.m. Thursday hoping to buy front-row seats for the second show. They were gone by the time she reached the window a few minutes after 10 a.m. She had to settle for seats much farther back in section CC "all the way in the back" and on one of the risers.
"I want to know how the system works," she said. "The window person I went to told me I had certain availabilities (for tickets), but my friend who bought (tickets) at the same time at the next window got better choices than I did."
Passion said that in her view, people who go to the Blaisdell box office to buy tickets should get an one- or two-hour head start on ticket sales before they became available online.
"We waited overnight, we camped out here; and then unfortunately people were able to buy tickets online already (before I could), but I’m still excited. I’m ready to see Janet. She’s still stunning at her age. So I’m disappointed, but I’m excited at the same time to be going."
Hawaii recording artist Paula Fuga waited her turn in a chair under a tree near the Elvis statue. Fuga said she arrived at 8:30 a.m.
"I’m looking forward to seeing Janet Jackson live," she said. "Growing up and listening to her music my whole life, getting to see her up close at the Blaisdell now as an adult is going to be a really special treat."
Fuga’s turn to buy tickets came at 11:05 a.m. More than 100 people with higher-numbered tokens were waiting behind her.
Ticketmaster showed just a few scattered tickets available at 11:30 a.m. Six single seats remained at 1 p.m. Friday. They were gone shortly afterward.
Promoters have made no announcement regarding the possibility of a third concert.
Jackson’s fans continue to hope.
