Rap superstar Nicki Minaj has cancelled the North American leg of her upcoming tour, including a Sept. 21 stop at Royal Farms Arena, to fine tune some of the production elements of the co-headlining shows with rapper Future.
“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,” concert promoter Live Nation said in a statement.
Refunds are available at the point of purchase, Live Nation said. The European leg of the tour, scheduled for parts of February and March 2019, will go on as planned. North American dates will be rescheduled, and shows will start in May 2019, Live Nation said.
A report last night in the New York Post said sales for the tour were “in the toilet.” According to a source at Live Nation, only 2,000 tickets had sold here in Baltimore. There were similarly low sales figures in Los Angeles, Chicago, New Orleans, Denver and Brooklyn.
“Nicki’s tour could be the most disappointing ticket sales of the year for any artist,” the source told the Post. “These are big arenas with up to 20,000 capacities.”
Representatives from Live Nation and Royal Farms Arena did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the accuracy of the Baltimore figure.
As The New York Times notes, the cancellation comes during a “chaotic stretch” for Minaj. Early singles from her fourth album, “Queen,” failed to resonate, and the record landed below Travis Scott’s “Astroworld” on the charts. She’s blamed the record’s placement on the music industry, as well as Scott’s 2-month-old child with Kylie Jenner.
On social media, Minaj said that due to scheduling conflicts, Future may not be able to make the rescheduled U.S. dates as a co-headliner, in which case there would be several opening acts. She also said she’s working “tirelessly” to get the show into shape.
“I really apologize,” she said, “but it’ll be worth it.”
