Nicki Minaj has had quite an eventful couple of weeks in the lead up to and relative let down after the release of her latest album, Queen. The Hip Hop superstar seemed set to become the first female Hip Hop artist to score three straight No. 1 albums, but Queen only made it to No. 2, leading the singer/rapper to vent about the reasons (blaming everything from a Kardashian's social media post to Spotify vengeance). Minaj didn't help her cause when she seemed to compare her hardships to Harriet Tubman's.
Earlier tonight (Aug. 21), Page Six ran a story claiming ticket sales for her NICKIHNDRXX tour with Future that was set to start next month — and included a Sept. 29 date at Cincinnati's U.S. Bank Arena — were not strong. An unnamed source from tour promoter Live Nation claimed opening night in Baltimore had only unloaded 2,000 tickets so far; the New Orleans concert had only sold 1,000 tickets according to the source, and other dates weren't doing much better.
Shortly after, Live Nation reportedly sent out a press release saying that the entire NICKIHNDRXX opening run in North America was canceled; the European and U.K. dates next year were expected to mark the beginning and end of the two stars' joint venture. Minaj is expected to reschedule the North American dates sometime next year, minus Future.
The press release states: “Following her unforgettable VMA performance, Nicki Minaj has decided to reevaluate elements of production on the NickiHndrxx Tour. The outing will now kick off in Europe this coming February as planned. 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. Due to scheduling conflicts Future will not be on the North American run. Nicki Minaj will be announcing new North American dates to kick off in May 2019. Refunds for the previously scheduled North American dates will be available at point of purchase, with new Nicki Minaj on-sale details announced soon.”
It hasn't been all bad news for Nicki, though. I mean, a No. 2 album is something 99.9 percent of all musicians will only ever dream of. She gave a strong performance on the aforementioned VMAs broadcast. And she was pretty hilarious with Stephen Colbert on his show last week. Watch both TV appearances below.
