This is possibly the craziest music related story reported this year. Pitchfork.com reports that R. Kelly fans were extremely upset when they discovered that the man who took the stage at the Monroe Civic Centre in Louisiana wasn’t actually the R&B star.
Local news station KNOE reported that excited concertgoers paid $150 a ticket, only to find a man wearing a hoodie, Bulls hat, and sunglasses who attempted to lip-sync for approximately 4 minutes…..and he turned up three hours late for his “performance”.
In an interview with an anonymous female the fan said:
“The advertisement online through Ticketmaster said that it was a Ced’s All Black Affair and R Kelly performing live, which did not happen last night.”
“We was scammed because 10 o’clock we was there, no R. Kelly. 11 o’clock: no R Kelly, 12 o’clock: no R. Kelly, 12:45: no R. Kelly. 1 o’clock, here comes an impersonator,”
The female fan claimed that she saw the same impersonator in a nearby restaurant earlier that day and he refused the take any pictures.
Event promoter Cedric Johnson responded to KNOE in a text message saying that he was “duped” and that he truly believed that R. Kelly would make an appearance. Johnson would have refunded only half of the concertgoers’ money, however he has apparently taken back the offer, claiming he did not send the original message.
The official update from Pitchfork states that a representative for R. Kelly made contact with the site, confirming that the Grammy Award winning artist was in fact on stage that night.
Update from Pitchfork:
UPDATE: A representative for R. Kelly reached out to us, saying the person at the event was indeed R. Kelly. They also note that the event was billed as featuring an “appearance” from R. Kelly, not as a full concert.”
Is this the way to make a quick buck these days? The incident has become quit confusing. Have a look at the footage and compare it with an earlier performance from R. Kelly.
Do you think it is the R&B star?
The “imposter”…or maybe not? Watch the news report
R Kelly When a Woman Loves-Later with Jools Holland Live 2011