The Huffington Post has a big headline reading "Surprise" with Kanye West's picture underneath it. The surprise is that he's delaying his tour to work on an album. (Hey Kanye, Imma let you finish your tour, but Kanye has the best album of all time in the works and he need to take a break.) I guess the surprise is that he's bailing on the tour, or that he has another album, but I will tell you what is not the surprise: that the tour he's bailing on is the Australian one. Though he was originally supposed to come in May, now Aussie fans will have to wait until September to see Yeezus.
I'm not quite sure what it is about musicians and Australia but they just do not mix. The continent has gotten the short end of the touring stick for decades (yes, decades). Here are 6 other musicians who have flaked out on Australia.
1. THE BEATLES
In 1964 they toured the globe playing their poppy hits at just about every arena in the world. But when it came time to go to Australia, drummer Ringo suddenly comes down with tonsillitis and can't play the two weeks of the tour. So instead the band replaced him with this guy named Jimmy Nicol. That totally sucks for all those Australian Ringo fans who didn't get to see their favorite band member, (But at the same time they did get to see 3/4 of the band in their prime so maybe I don't feel so bad for them after all...)
2. PITBULL AND KE$HA
After poor ticket sales last year, this pop tour plug was pulled. Come on, Australia, if you don't buy tickets no one is going to want to tour there! It's a two way street. It seems the reason behind the lack of buyers was the addition of Ke$ha to Pitbull's lineup. "On principal I wouldn't pay a cent if she is involved," one fan said.
Perhaps those naysayers will be glad to know she's dropped the dollar sign in her name and is doing much better after her stint in rehab.
3. MADONNA
In 2012, the singer canceled her Australian tour (for the second time) to spend time with her family. She issued an apology to her Aussie fans saying:
"I know the last time I was on tour I missed Australia as well. And I can promise you in my heart of hearts that it was my intention to come again. But, like the last time, my children are my first priority ... I know a lot of you are angry with me, upset with me, disappointed… please forgive me, and know that when I do come to Australia I will have made the wait worth your while, and I will put on the greatest show on earth."
So for now her fans will just have to wait for that legendary show, and hope that against all odds, it does actually happen.
4. SELENA GOMEZ
This year the singer decided to cancel the Asia/Australia leg of her world tour to take a (much needed) break. In a statement she said:
“My fans are so important to me and I would never want to disappoint them,” she said in a statement released by Live Nation to the media. “But it has become clear to me and those close to me that after many years of putting my work first, I need to spend some time on myself in order to be the best person I can be. To my fans, I sincerely apologize and I hope you guys know how much each and every one of you mean to me.”
5. FLEETWOOD MAC
In 2013 the band had to stop its tour so member John McVie could undergo cancer treatment. Okay, Australia can't really get upset about that one, but for fans of the band it was a double bummer to not get to see the concert and to know the bassist was very ill.
6. THE ROLLING STONES
After L'Wren Scott's sudden death earlier this month, The Rolling Stones decided to briefly call off their world tour (including a week-long stint in Australia) to allow her boyfriend Mick Jagger some time to grieve. Now the Huffington Post reports that the band will resume their tour with rescheduled shows, but it seems they intend to skip Australia still as it has not been named as one of the places they'll be visiting.
I'm sure no band cancels a tour without giving it a lot of thought, and it's usually for a good reason. But I'm sure Australia is also tired of looking forward to a concert only to see it get rescheduled, or worse canceled. You always see those Brazilian fans pleading on Twitter "Come to Brazil!!!!"
But right now it's Australia that deserves a little love.
Image: Tumblr; Tumblr/gifsforgomez
