It has been a strange couple of weeks for Nicki Minaj. Following the release of her delayed album Queen, the rapper and singer went off on a social media rant claiming that the LP was robbed of the #1 spot on the Billboard 200 largely due to the actions of Travis Scott (whose Astroworld album has topped the charts two weeks in a row), Spotify, and Kylie Jenner. Now, Live Nation and Minaj have announced the cancellation of her entire upcoming North American run of tour dates with Future (6ix9ine was also slated to open). Full refunds are being offered. The tour, originally slated to begin in the United States in September, is now scheduled to begin in February with European dates.
In a Twitter video posted this morning, Minaj announced that she is rescheduling the shows for May 2019, but that, due to scheduling issues, Future will no longer be joining her on the dates. “This is all happening because I pushed my album back two months, and I just finished writing and recording literally hours before the album came out,” Minaj said. “So, now I just simply don’t have the time to rehearse and be on the road in time to give you guys the level of a show I need to give.”
A spokesperson for Minaj also wrote in a press statement: “Following her unforgettable VMA performance, Nicki Minaj has decided to reevaluate elements of production on the NickiHndrxx Tour…Nicki has decided to contribute more time to rehearsal ahead of the tour’s launch to make certain her fans get the absolute best quality show that they deserve.”
The decision comes in the wake of rumors about low ticket sales for Minaj’s tour. A source told Page Six yesterday that the tour could be “the most disappointing ticket sales of the year for any artist,” with sales for shows in major cities in the realm of one to five thousand for venues with capacities of around 20,000. From Page Six:
A Live Nation source told us, “Nicki’s tour could be the most disappointing ticket sales of the year for any artist. These are big arenas with up to 20,000 capacities. Sales for opening night in Baltimore is 2,000 tickets. LA is 3,400, New Orleans 1,000, Denver 1,300, Chicago 3,900. Even her hometown Brooklyn is only 5,050.”
My darlings: 🙏🏽 pic.twitter.com/nBmsE2p9SI
— QUEEN (@NICKIMINAJ) August 22, 2018
