R&B star Keyshia Cole has announced the cancellation of her highly-anticipated South African tour, which was set for later this month.
The multi-award-winning artist was set to perform at the SunBet Arena at Times Square, Pretoria, on January 24, Carnival City, East Rand, on January 25 and in Mother City at the GrandWest Grand Arena on January 26.
The decision to cancel follows the devastating wildfires that have spread through Los Angeles, resulting in the singer losing her home.
The blaze, which has been raging for ten days now, has caused extensive damage and widespread evacuations across the region.
To date, twenty-four people have lost their lives and the total area burned by the Palisades, Eaton and Hurst fires is about 16,425 hectares, which is larger than Paris.
Focusing on Cole’s well-being and that of her loved ones, she, alongside her team, spent considerable time assessing the challenging situation before making the difficult choice to call off the tour.
“Together with her team, we have been working tirelessly to assess the situation, and in light of these unexpected and heartbreaking events, the difficult decision was made to call off the tour,” a statement from her representatives revealed.
Details regarding a possible rescheduling of the tour are yet to be confirmed.
“Current ticket holders will be notified via email with instructions on how to proceed by the end of next week. All other further announcements will be made through official media channels,” read the statement.
This is the second time the Grammy-nominated singer, songwriter and Billboard chart-topper has cancelled on her fans in South Africa.
Her debut tour was supposed to take place in September but it was rescheduled to January due to “unforeseen circumstances”.