R. Kelly to Ne-Yo: See Ya

11/21/2007 1:00 PM, E! Online
Josh Grossberg

The Double Up tour is down a man.

After performing just two dates of the road show with R. Kelly, Ne-Yo has been sent home for the holidays.

"I am disappointed that I won't be able to perform for my fans. I love being on stage in front of fans because of the immediate feedback you get," Ne-Yo said in a statement released by his label, Def Jam. "You know right away if they are feeling you, and they were really feeling our show."

The 25-year-old performer, whose real name Shaffer Chimere Smith, was on Kelly's North American tour along with fellow R&B stars Keyshia Cole and J. Holiday. The trek is in support of Kelly's latest album, also called Double Up.

Kelly's camp quickly denied Ne-Yo's dismissal had anything to do with tensions between the two entertainers.

"Ne-Yo's departure from the Double Up tour was the result of a contractual issue between him and the tour promoter. R. Kelly had nothing to do with it," said Kelly's rep, Allan Mayer.

But in a separate interview with BET.com, Ne-Yo hinted there's more to the story.

"Let [my label] tell it, I was removed from the R. Kelly tour because of contractual agreements not being met, but that's absolutely false," he said. "I believe it was because the first few reviews of the show, people were talking more about my set than his, and I don't think he liked that too much."

If true, it wouldn't be the first time the 40-year-old Kelly has parted company with a tourmate due to personal issues.

Back in 2004, Kelly and Jay-Z were on the road together in support of their Best of Both Worlds album when the latter decided to pull out following a performance at New York's Madison Square Garden. Kelly fled the venue, claiming he feared for his life after he and his entourage were pepper-sprayed by a member of Jay-Z's crew.

The rap legend countered that during that outing, Kelly was often late or had skipped from performing on several occasions because he was worried about being upstaged by Jay-Z, a charge Kelly denied.

The Double Up tour minus Ne-Yo continues Wednesday night in Philadelphia. There are 32 more dates scheduled before wrapping up Jan. 13 in Hampton, Virginia.

Ne-Yo, meanwhile, is set to perform "Can We Chill" during the live telecast of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.