Rihanna Delays ‘Anti’ Tour: 8 Shows Postponed And 2 Cancelled Due To Production, Not Illness
It has only been days since Rihanna cancelled her performance at the Grammys at the last minute. Now we’re learning that Rihanna’s ANTI tour is also getting pushed back and it looks like production is taking the blame. Eight tour dates have been pushed back and two have been cancelled for Rihanna’s upcoming tour and many fans are wondering if her reps are telling the truth about the reason for the rescheduled ANTI tour dates.
Eight dates at the beginning of Rihanna’s ANTI tour have been moved from February to May. The cities affected by the ANTI tour schedule change are San Diego, Houston, Austin, Dallas, Atlanta, Phoenix, New Orleans, Oakland, and San Jose. According to Billboard, a source in San Jose claimed that the schedule change happened because Rihanna and her crew were not ready for the show originally scheduled for February 28. Despite the San Jose show being headed for a sellout, it had to be moved to May 8 due to production problems.
Rihanna: Why She Should Postpone Tour And Get Back To Making Hit Music https://t.co/ppXkm9c80q
— Hollywood News (@HollywoodNewsA1) February 19, 2016
Rihanna’s rep confirmed that production delays were the reason for delaying eight shows and canceling two others. Rihanna’s tour is schedule to start in Jacksonville, Florida, on March 12 now. Rihanna will be joined by Travi$ Scott for her U.S. tour and will be joined by Big Sean and The Weeknd for the European tour dates. The new schedule for Rihanna’s ANTI tour is as follows (rescheduled dates are marked with *):
March 12 – Jacksonville, FL, Jacksonville Arena
March 13 – Tampa, FL, Amalie Arena
March 15 – Miami, FL, American Airlines Arena
March 18 – Nashville, TN, Bridgestone Arena
March 19 – Cincinnati, OH, U.S. Bank Arena
March 20 – Charlotte, NC, The Time Warner Cable Arena
March 22 – Washington, DC, Verizon Center
March 23 – Buffalo, NY, First Niagara Center
March 24 – Auburn Hills, MI, Palace of Auburn Hills
March 26 – Hartford, CT, XL Center
March 27 – Brooklyn, NY, Barclays Center
March 30 – Brooklyn, NY, Barclays Center
April 2 – Newark, NJ, Prudential Center
April 3 – Philadelphia, PA, Wells Fargo
April 5 – Quebec City, QC, Centre Videotron
April 6 – Montreal, QC, Bell Centre
April 7 – Montreal, QC, Bell Centre
April 9 – Baltimore, MD, Royal Farms Arena
April 10 – Boston, MA, TD Garden
April 13 – Toronto, ON, Air Canada Centre
April 14 – Toronto, ON, Air Canada Centre
April 15 – Chicago, IL, United Center
April 18 – Winnipeg, MS, MTS Centre
April 20 – Edmonton, AB, Rexall Place
April 21 – Calgary, AB, Scotiabank Saddledome
April 23 – Vancouver, BC, Rogers Arena
April 24 – Seattle, WA, KeyArena
April 27 – Salt Lake City, UT, Vivint Smart Home Arena
April 29 – Las Vegas, NV, Mandalay Bay
April 30 – Las Vegas, NV, Mandalay Bay
May 1* – Phoenix, AZ, Talking Stick Resort Arena
May 3 – Los Angeles, CA, Forum
May 4 – Los Angeles, CA, Forum
May 6* – San Jose, CA, SAP Center
May 7* – Oakland, CA, Oracle Arena
May 9* – San Diego, CA, Viejas Arena
May 13* – Dallas, TX, American Airlines Center
May 14* – Austin, TX, Frank Erwin Center
May 15* – Houston, TX, Toyota Center
May 17* – New Orleans, LA, Smoothie King Center
May 18* – Atlanta, GA, Philips Arena
News of Rihanna’s rescheduled tour dates comes just days after the singer was forced to cancel her Grammys performance at the last moment. According to reports, Rihanna was on set and even made it to rehearsals but was ordered by her doctor not to perform that night. TMZ reported that Rihanna ultimately decided to follow doctor’s orders and pull out of the performance because she risked “permanently damaging her vocal cords.”
According to the TMZ report, Rihanna took antibiotics for three days before the awards show but the medication just wasn’t working. After an exam at her Monday rehearsal, Rihanna was told to rest her vocal chords for 48 hours or risk permanent damage. She was supposed to sing “Kiss It Better” during the performance.
Will @Rihanna dethrone Justin Bieber atop the Hot 100? Would make a nice bday present…???? https://t.co/j737TSR8T8 pic.twitter.com/kOuzlEZ7sO
— billboard (@billboard) February 20, 2016
ANTI is Rihanna’s first album in three years. Hollywood Life is suggesting that maybe Rihanna should cancel her whole tour and try to make some music that sells because ANTI is turning out to be a dud. They claim that Rihanna is “exhausted, overwhelmed and not ready to be hitting nearly 70 cities to perform a grueling show every night.” The report goes on to say that Rihanna should go back and make another album to make up for ANTI because fans won’t want to go to a concert to hear songs from that album. Certainly her sold-out and nearly sold-out concert dates prove quite the opposite and probably have a lot to do with Rihanna trudging forward and making sure her upcoming tour doesn’t have any more major problems.
A source for Hollywood Life also claimed that Rihanna’s issues may not be production related at all. Instead, they suggest that the Pour It Up singer and her diva antics are causing the problem. “Rihanna has a bunch of yes-sayers around her. No one is holding her accountable for her actions such as showing up late to shoots,” their source claimed. “On her last music video shoot in LA, she showed up seven hours late and the producer walked off the set. The producer wasn’t going to put up with her antics.”
Rihanna Work ft. Drake coming Monday 2/22.https://t.co/efpOLYoI7q
— Drake (@SixGodDrake) February 19, 2016
There was also talk that Rihanna’s Grammy performance cancellation came after the singer freaked out during rehearsals, screaming and yelling while she supposedly had bronchitis. Could Rihanna’s health issues be a cover for a much bigger problem? Should Rihanna ANTI tour ticket holders be worried that the whole tour might end up getting cancelled?
[Photo by Larry Busacca/Getty Images]
