By "Tai" Saint-Louis
In what may come as a shocking move to fans, R&B singer Ne-Yo has been dropped from R. Kelly’s highly publicized Double-Up Tour after just two performances, reportedly due to the lack of a signed contract, it was announced today (November 20). In a statement released by Ne-Yo’s camp, the singer stated, “I don’t understand their actions because I was rehearsing, doing media, promoting the tour, and performing. In my opinion, I was doing everything possible to make the tour a success.” He went on to apologize to fans and ticketholders who might be disappointed.
Ne-Yo’s inclusion on the tour, along with Keyshia Cole and newcomer J. Holiday, was announced on October 30. He appeared on the first two dates of the nine-week tour, performing as planned in Columbus, OH and Atlanta, GA on November 14 and 15, respectively. Ne-Yo then took the weekend off to attend the American Music Awards, where he performed with Rihanna.
“This announcement really came out of nowhere,” Ne-Yo’s tour DJ Mars told AllHipHop.com. “We found this out late Monday night as we were preparing to rejoin the tour and can’t even speculate as to what may have happened. As far as we know, we were doing everything we were contracted to do. Ne-Yo’s not a problematic artist in the least. So I can’t even beginning to guess what really happened.”
Prior to today’s announcement, there was no indication of any conflict on the tour, though some speculated about Keyshia Cole’s absence on the tour’s opening night. Rowe Entertainment, Inc., the Atlanta-based company behind the R. Kelly Double-Up Tour, indicated that sales for the national tour, supporting Kelly’s latest release of the same name, were “strong from the gate.”
Upon announcing the lineup and dates last month, Leonard Rowe, who helms Rowe Entertainment, said “We are excited about bringing a tour of this quality and magnitude to the marketplace. These are some of the hottest R&B artists around today and having them all together on one stage is going to prove to be a dynamic and electrifying show every night in each city we visit.”