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The Minnesota State Fair was supposed to kick-off this week, so we're looking back at some memorable moments from past Fairs. Like which artist drew the largest crowd in the grandstand in State Fair history.

The fact that there isn't going to be a Minnesota State Fair this year, thanks to our ongoing battle with the coronavirus outbreak, is still a tough one to swallow. And the fact that this year's Great Minnesota Get-Together was scheduled to start Thursday makes it even tougher.

One of the best parts of the Fair-- outside of all the food, of course-- is all the great acts that perform in the grandstand each night. I got to feeling all nostalgic so I looked up the list of performers who've all done at least one performance at the State Fair here in Minnesota. And it's an impressive list.

According to its official website, the Minnesota State Fair started offering entertainment in the grandstand waaaay back in 1962. Dennis Day, Jane Russell, and Jimmy Dean were the headliners on the main stage back then.

Since that time, the State Fair has attracted some pretty big names too. Classic country icons like Buck Owens, Dolly Parton, and Conway Twitty all played here back in the late '60s. In the '70s, Charlie Rich, Jerry Reed, Tanya Tucker, and the Brady Bunch kids were some of the big names on the main stage.

In the '80s, Willie Nelson, Alabama, Barbara Mandrell, and the Oak Ridge Boys were marquee performers. And, in the 90's you had big country stars like Reba McEntire, Tim McGraw, Alan Jackson, Garth Brooks, Travis Tritt, and Brooks & Dunn all sell tons of tickets.

But can you guess which performer sold the MOST tickets in Minnesota State Fair history? My guess was the one-and-only Garth Brooks, who played here in the Land of 10,000 Lakes right when his popularity was taking off, back in '91 and '92. But, nope, it wasn't him. And it wasn't Tim McGraw, who played here in '97, or even Brooks & Dunn, who played the Fair several times at the peak of their popularity in the late '90s.

So which artist had the biggest crowds in State Fair history? Well, that'd be... former 'The Voice' judge, Christina Aguilera, who, the site says, "broke the all-time record for the most tickets sold to a single Grandstand show in 2000, selling 22,117 tickets."

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