Despite his current legal battle, R. Kelly is headlining a new tour alongside Ne-Yo and J. Holiday.
The three R&B acts will kickoff their 39-date arena tour November 14 in Columbus, GA, spending most of November and December on the road before concluding the tour on January 12 in Hampton, VA. Although Kelly toured in Spring 2006 as part of the "Light It Up" Tour (under the name Mr. Showbiz), special permission was required in order for him to tour this Fall due to his upcoming child pornography trial in Chicago.
In August, Kelly shot down rumors of a tour with Keyshia Cole by releasing a statement.
"Reports that R. Kelly is planning a concert tour in October are not true," the statement read. "Kelly is currently focused on preparing for his trial and has no definite plans for anything beyond that."
The tour follows the release of R. Kelly's album, Double Up, which debuted at No. 1 on The Billboard 200 in June. According to Nielsen's SoundScan the album has moved 867,000 units domestically.
The tour also follows a recent release for Washington, D.C. native J. Holiday, whose album Back of My Lac dropped this Tuesday (10/2) via Music Line/Capitol Records and Ne-Yo's sophomore album Because of You.
Ne-Yo is currently booked to perform through early November in Los Angeles (Wiltern Theatre); Orlando, Fla. (University of Central Florida); Poughkeepsie, N.Y. (Mid-HudsonCivicCenter); Huntington, W.Va. (Big Sandy Superstore Arena); and Pine Bluff, Ark. (University of Arkansas).
In related news, Ne-Yo recently announced plans to throw a benefit concert for Atlanta's Grady Memorial Hospital. A Level 1 Trauma Center, Grady is the largest hospital in Georgia and the public hospital for Atlanta, however the fate of the hospital has been in serious jeopardy due to financial shortages. Details for the benefit have not been announced.
Here are R. Kelly's upcoming U.S. tour dates:
Nov. 14: Columbus, Ga. (Columbus Civic Center)
Nov. 15: Atlanta (Phillips Arena)
Nov. 16: Greensboro, N.C. (Greensboro Coliseum)
Nov. 17: Birmingham, Ala. (BJCC Arena)
Nov. 18: Charlotte, N.C. (Bobcat Arena)
Nov. 21: Philadelphia (Wachovia Center)
Nov. 22: Newark, N.J. (Prudential Center)
Nov. 23: Uniondale, N.Y. (Nassau Coliseum)
Nov. 24: Baltimore (1st Mariner Arena)
Nov. 25: Washington D.C. (Verizon Center)
Nov. 29: Little Rock, Ark. (Alltel Arena)
Nov. 30: New Orleans (New Orleans Arena)
Dec. 1: Dallas (American Airlines Arena)
Dec. 2: Houston (Toyota Center)
Dec. 6: Minneapolis (Target Center)
Dec. 7: Kansas City, Mo. (Sprint Center)
Dec. 8: Indianapolis (Conseco Fieldhouse)
Dec. 9: Memphis, Tenn. (Fed Ex Forum)
Dec. 13: Las Vegas (Mandalay Bay)
Dec. 14: Los Angeles (Staples Center)
Dec. 15: Oakland, Calif. (Oakland Arena)
Dec. 16: Sacramento, Calif. (Arco Arena)
Dec. 19: Denver (Pepsi Center)
Dec. 21: St. Louis (Scottrade Center)
Dec. 22: Chicago (United Center)
Dec. 23: Detroit (Joe Louis Arena)
Dec. 27: Charleston, S.C. (North Charleston Coliseum)
Dec. 28: Orlando, Fla. (TD Waterhouse Arena)
Dec. 29: Columbia, S.C (Colonial Center)
Dec. 30: Jacksonville, Fla. (Veteran Memorial Arena)
Dec. 31: Miami (American Airlines Arena)
Jan. 3: Louisville, Ky. (Kentucky Expo Center)
Jan. 4: Cleveland (Wolstein Center)
Jan. 5: Buffalo, N.Y. (HSBC Arena)
Jan. 6: Dayton, Ohio (Nutter Center)
Jan. 9: Savannah, Ga. (Civic Center)
Jan. 10: Greenville, S.C. (Bi Lo Center)
Jan. 11: Richmond, Va. (Richmond Coliseum)
Jan. 12: Hampton, Va. (Hampton Coliseum)