He has cancelled his February 2015 dates in Norway, Sweden, Finland and Italy. Finland fans have expressed their anger the most because this is the second time he has cancelled a show there.
The concerts were cancelled due to "unforeseen changes in the artist’s schedule." All ticket buyers are set to receive a full refund, and further shows could very well encounter cancellation in the coming days.
Usher has created a horrible reputation for cancelling on his European fans. In 2011, he cancelled four European shows due to illness, although his UK dates remained unaffected. Then in 2012, he cancelled his entire 'Euphoria' UK tour set to kick off the following year, citing professional and personal commitments to 'The Voice.' Though it was previously stated that the shows, originally scheduled to begin in January 2013, were only supposed to be postponed so that he could stay at home to be with his sons.
As for the reasoning, I'm not really buying this "unforeseen changes in the artist’s schedule" excuse. Why not just reschedule then? It's just a cop-out because tickets weren't selling very well in those territories and they don't want to admit that, and why would they?
It has been widely reported that Usher's tickets have not been selling well this time around. Ticket sales in the UK have been somewhat better but outside of London, he is not selling out these arenas. On a positive note, he has had several sold out shows over in the States. Although he is a veteran performer, those days are long gone when he could once rely on his name alone to have a sell-out tour.
There is no hype for his oft-delayed new album, and all the songs released from it have underperformed. It was just not a good idea to announce a tour with such an understated era. It would have made more sense to get himself a hit song first, release the album, and THEN announce a tour. Bad decisions all around, and cancelling shows three times in a row is not a good look for him.
@chickgirl6 It's because of unforeseen scheduling issues, we were told.
— Live Nation Finland (@LiveNationFI) November 28, 2014
@chickgirl6 Unfortunately not, the show was cancelled alltogether.
— Live Nation Finland (@LiveNationFI) November 28, 2014
Thoughts?