Admittedly, I’m actually pretty upset that Rihanna doesn’t seem to have her shit together lately. I bought tickets to see her and The Weeknd on the Anti tour in England this summer, and I woke up this morning to an email telling me that the date had been cancelled, and that if I still wanted to see her, I could rebook my tickets by choosing from what’s left at a few other dates in London and Coventry (i.e. nosebleeds that aren’t even worth looking at) or I could get a refund. The reason given for the cancellation was “logistical difficulties beyond the tour’s control” (that’s verbatim from the email I received). Turns out, it wasn’t just my show — the whole tour has been pushed back and messed up because of “production delays”, which I’m pretty sure translates to “Rihanna can’t get her shit together.”
Here’s the general rundown:
- Tour was due to start February 26 in San Diego; will now start March 12 in Jacksonville, Florida
- 14 dates have been postponed
- Several dates have been downgraded from stadiums to arenas due to poor ticket sales
- The Weeknd has dropped out of the UK leg of the tour (which he was due to support)
- Two UK dates have been cancelled altogether
What’s fucked up is that Sunderland’s Stadium of Light (where I was due to see Rihanna) is actually bragging about the fact that Beyonce is coming there still a week after Rihanna was due to perform. In other words, Rihanna’s star might be very subtly waning.
It’s a shame, really. I know Anti wasn’t everyone’s favorite, but it’s actually her best album, I think — more mature, more moody, slightly less accessible/not full of radio hits but really interesting sounds. It’s just becoming clear to me, especially after the carry on at the Grammys last weekend, that Rihanna is smoking too damn much and needs to get her act together. Don’t self-destruct, girl.