Update: Rihanna cancels UAE gig
By Kelly Crane, Staff Reporter
Published: April 29, 2009, 23:08
Since tabloid! revealed May 28 as the date for Rihanna’s first live performance since that fateful night with boyfriend Chris Brown, the exclusive news has spread across the globe.
The Washington Post, and New York Times, as well as countless celeb and music websites ran with the announcement, which was even screened on a constant loop on video feeds on screens in the back of New York cabs.
Convince Rihanna to change her mind
Great for the UAE, which was looking forward to hosting the 21-year-old Grammy Award-winner. Bad for a particularly delicate Rihanna,
who has decided to call off the gig, saying “it’s just not the right time” for her.
With Brown in the thick of court appearances after being accused of assaulting the singer after a pre-Grammy bash, and with RiRi having not performed since late January, Yassin Matbouly of Vibe Event Management Agency, who were bringing the star, said it had all become too much for the pop princess to deal with.
“Rihanna’s management contacted us on Saturday and explained she was unable to come to the UAE in May, but said she is keen to still perform in the region.”
Vibe, who had already agreed to many of the terms for the concert and were busy making arrangements to host the star in either Dubai or Abu Dhabi, says Rihanna had possibly underestimated the numbers and media attention when it came to a concert in the region.
“We want to share with you that Rihanna and her management will not be accepting to hold a public concert at this time as it is not appropriate timing for her,” added Matbouly.
“Vibe has been ready and was looking forward to putting this concert together for the crowd of the Middle East. We have sourced venues in both Dubai and Abu Dhabi and started looking into complying with her request to put the show on. This is very sad for us at this time knowing the concert will not happen, but we will not give up and we will continue to put our offer to Rihanna’s management for a future date.”
Vibe is hoping the concert can take place after the summer.
her new material will drop when all of them are just about through with their eras it never fails.
I'm not even gonna address that thing, all up in here actin' like JORDIN matters to anybody, boy PLEASE. 