Nicki Minaj kept her fans guessing on the release date for her new album Queen, and she’s now making big changes to her tour in support of it.
Just 24 hours after performing a fiery Queen-themed medley at the MTV VMAs, the hip-hop star has rescheduled her upcoming North America trek after deciding to “re-evaluate elements “of its production, according to a statement issued late Tuesday. Minaj’s NickiHndrxx co-headlining tour alongside Future was due to kick off Sept. 21 in Baltimore, with stops in Brooklyn, Miami, Dallas and Los Angeles, before concluding in Las Vegas on Nov. 24. The 28-city North American jaunt will now go ahead in May 2019, the statement continues. However, Future will no longer appear due to “scheduling conflicts.”
“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,” the media release reads.
As it stands, the European leg of Minaj’s trek will start Feb. 21 at Olympiahalle in Munich, with dates across the U.K. and the continent running through March 28 at Arena Geneva, Switzerland.
Refunds for the previously slated North American dates will be available at point of purchase, according to the tour’s producer, Live Nation, which says new on-sale information will be unveiled shortly.
After moving its release date twice (complications relating to the clearance of a Tracy Chapman sample was behind one pushback), Minaj’s fourth album, Queen, finally dropped Aug. 10. The set came in at No. 2 on the Billboard 200, with 185,000 equivalent album units in its first week of release, behind Travis Scott’s Astroworld.
Minaj detailed the reasons for her tour change in the below video, posted to Twitter.
My darlings: pic.twitter.com/nBmsE2p9SI
— QUEEN (@NICKIMINAJ) August 22, 2018
A version of this story first appeared on Billboard.com.
