As if a pending court case for several counts of child pornography, R Kelly has been hit with yet another lawsuit … this time around by ex-tourmate Ne-Yo!
Ne-Yo and Compound Touring Inc. filed a suit Monday (Dec. 31) against Rowe Entertainment Inc., the promoter of R. Kelly’s “Double-Up” Tour, for firing the singer after two shows as the opening act for Kelly. The suit, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, alleges breach of contract and violation of the right of publicity. The suit maintains Ne-Yo, born Shaffer Smith, was to be paid $785,000 for opening the 25-stop tour alongside singers Keyshia Cole and J. Holiday. The outing began Nov. 14, and Ne-Yo was fired prior to the third show on Nov. 19 and is still owed $735,000. Compound Touring and Smith are seeking unspecified damages.
“Plaintiffs allege that an unknown representative of R. Kelly urged Rowe to terminate Smith from the tour given the audience’s and critics’ more favorable reaction to Smith than the reaction to R. Kelly,” the suit states. Compound Touring spent “substantial monies in preparation for the tour and turned down other touring and performance opportunities for Smith in reliance on Rowe’s agreement that Smith would perform on the tour,” according to the suit. [ BILLBOARD ]
They say the best way to hurt a man is through his pockets. I’m behind you on this one Ne-Yo!
This past Friday, it was reported that Jay-Z wouldn’t be able to celebrate the opening of his new 40/40 club in Las Vegas this weekend because of the club not passing some kind of inspection test. But obviously, everything was cleared up and the party went on as planned. But eff the party! Check out the dude behind Jay-Z. If that ain’t a piercing side-eye, I don’t know what is. Maybe someone should teach Al Sharpton the PROPER way to throw your diamonds in the sky.
I came across some more photos of Jay-Z’s big “New Year’s Eve” concert (even though it was this past Saturday) at The Pearl in Las Vegas. Kanye West, Mary J Blige, Ne-Yo, Memphis Bleek, and Beanie Sigel all showed up and performed with Jay live on stage. Sounds like it was a pretty good show! More flicks after the break…
I swear I love this guy! Keep breaking Ne-Yo’s heart ladies so he can keep makin’ them hits! (I know this makes me a cruel person, and I am ok with that.) BOY was amazing, if you don’t have the album yet … I will pray for you later on today. And of course, another Stargate production, I know SG like the back of my hand. The video is dope; I like the effects, Hype!
Will Smith hit up MTV’s TRL today to promote his new movie, “I Am Legend.” The film is set to hit theaters this weekend (Friday, December 14th)! I might have to check this one out… Peep more photos from random events after the cut! CONTINUE READING
Ne-Yo called in to Big Tigger’s radio show on 95.5 yesterday to speak on the craziness surrounding the Double Up tour with he and R Kelly. As we reported yesterday, he was dropped from the tour and he cleared the air and talked about the REAL reason why he was dismissed. Ne-Yo went on to say that he still has respect for R Kelly as an ARTIST, but as a person … some (if not, all) respect has been lost. And I don’t blame him! Let me sum it up for you:
1. The venue in Columbus, Georgia only has 7 dressing rooms. Guess how many Mr. Robert Kelly wanted to use? All 7! Fortunately for Ne-Yo, his people worked it out, and Ne-Yo and his dancers eventually got one of the rooms.
2. He was told that he and his crew had 4 hours of rehearsal time, but R Kelly only wanted him to have 2 so he would physically go out there and try to rush them off of the stage.
3. Reviews from the show have primarily been focusing on Ne-Yo’s set and Kellz is a little pissed about that. Kind of childish if you ask me…
4. And this is the icing on the cake … no one was allowed in the hallways when R Kelly was walking through. Who the hell does he think he is??? I mean really, it ain’t that damn serious.
5. Ne-Yo’s not sure what’s going on as far as the Keyshia Cole rumor because he hasn’t heard anything from her or her people.
6. He apologized to all of his fans for not being able to be on the tour and speaks highly of J Holiday and Keyshia saying that they’re “doing their thing.” And he ends with telling them (his fans) to “support R Kelly if they feel like it” LMAO!
So he’s not trying to start any beef, he’s just speaking the truth. No harm in that right? I’d like to hear what Kellz has to say about this. And we have YET to hear Keyshia’s side to the story. Ne-Yo’s the only one being real with us.
NE-YO PERFORMING IN ATLANTA // BEN ROSE FOR WIRE IMAGE
Not even a week into the tour, and the drama just keeps unfolding. First the Keyshia Cole incident and now this! The latest gossip circulating about R Kelly’s “Double Up” tour is that show opener Ne-Yo has been dropped. “I am disappointed that I won’t be able to perform for my fans,” he said said in a statement from Def Jam. “I love being on stage in front of fans because of the immediate feedback you get. You know right away if they are feeling you; and they were really feeling our show.”
Since the show’s opening in Columbus, Georgia, the concert reviewers have taken a liking to Ne-Yo’s set particularly and my guess is that R Kelly didn’t like that. So he did what any man with ego problems would do … he booted his ass! Jive (R Kelly’s label) is saying that there’s no animosity between Kellz and Ne-Yo and the reason for Ne-Yo’s departure has something to do with some legal mumbo jumbo. But don’t let them pull the wool over your eyes. We all know the real reason… I know Keyshia’s happy though!
PHOTOS BY GREGG DEGUIRE & STEVE GRANITZ FOR WIRE IMAGE
The 2007 American Music Awards went down last night at the Nokia Theater in Los Angeles. The show was telecast live on CBS and featured performances from Fergie, Chris Brown, Beyonce (and Sugarland), Rihanna & Ne-Yo, and more. Winners included Justin Timberlake, T.I., Akon, Rihanna, and Beyonce, who won the most prestigious honor of the night! Beyonce took home the “International Star of the Year” award, an honor only previously given to Michael Jackson, Led Zeppelin, Aerosmith, and Rod Stewart. This makes her the first female to ever win that award, which was presented by Usher (who fumbled through 95% of it I might add lol — what’s on his mind??). If you’re interested in checking out the full list of winners, check out this site. In this post, you’ll find photos from the Red Carpet, The Performances, and Random Candids from throughout the show. CONTINUE READING
MISSY AND KEYSHIA ON STAGE AT THE “DOUBLE UP TOUR” IN ATLANTA
PHOTOS BY BEN ROSE FOR WIRE IMAGE
R Kelly’s currently on tour with Keyshia Cole, Ne-Yo, and J.Holiday, and the crew touched down in Atlanta last night. I’m hearing Keyshia’s giving a little trouble behind the scenes though. I was reading on Fresh’s site that homegirl wasn’t too happy about her dressing room arrangement (and the show line-up) at the previous show in Columbus, Georgia. She did NOT go on stage that night because she didn’t wanna go BEFORE Ne-Yo! Why? Because she believes that she’s bigger than he is. Wow… Lol. Style Razzi has all the info on that. But it looks like they came to some kind of agreement cause she hit the stage last night in Atlanta. If anyone went to the ATL show last night, PLEASEEEEE hit us up! I wanna know who came first … Keyshia, or Ne-Yo?? Lol!
But on the real, she needs to chill out with that. Drama on the road is not cool, especially when you have to be around these people almost all day long for a period of 2 - 4 months. Wasn’t she the one causing issues a couple of years ago during Kanye’s tour?? It was something between her and Fantasia if I remember correctly.
BOBBY VALENTINO, NE-YO, AND CIARA
ALL PHOTOS BY RICK DIAMOND FOR WIRE IMAGE
Ciara celebrated her 22nd birthday Sunday night at the Velvet Room in Atlanta. Folks like Ne-Yo, Bobby Valentino, Shay (from Charm School), I Love New York (2)’s Punk & Man Man, and her parents, Carlton & Jackie Harris, all showed up to celebrate with her. Happy birthday CiCi!
ASHANTI & NELLY IN THE AUDIENCE // ALL PHOTOS BY BEN ROSE & ARNOLD TURNER FOR WIRE IMAGE
Here’s the second set of photos from the ‘07 BET Hip-Hop Awards that were held in Atlanta, Georgia at the Atlantic Civic Center last night. These flicks are from backstage and the audience. Looked like a lot of fun… Check out the rest after the cut!
PHARRELL WILLIAMS & SNOOP DOGG // ALL PHOTOS BY FRANK MICELOTTA FOR GETTY IMAGES
The 4th Annual VH1 Hip Hop Honors went down last night in NYC. It featured appearances/performances form Snoop Dogg, Diddy, Eve, Keyshia Cole, LL Cool J, Ciara, Nelly, and tons more. Check out the show when it airs this Monday at 10 PM EST. Check your local listings for more details. Peep the photos from the show below and after the cut!
This was a HUGE disappointment, her people skipped out on “Rehab” for this? THIS!? I was at least expecting something groundbreaking and raw … like running Ne-Yo over with a car or becoming a cokehead, something! Ok, the video isn’t that bad…
