After rapper Nicki Minaj canceled a sold-out March 18 concert at the Smoothie King Center hours before showtime, she promised she would return to New Orleans.
That make-up date is now set: Wednesday, May 8.
At press time, Ticketmaster listed dozens of tickets available for the rescheduled show, likely because some fans who bought tickets to the original show requested refunds.
Tickets in the upper balcony start at $56 plus service charges.
A bad case of the flu apparently caused Minaj to scrap the initial date.
A statement released via the Smoothie King Center at 4 p.m. on March 18, less than three hours before the arena’s doors were to open, read, “Due to doctor’s orders, Nicki Minaj must reschedule her NOLA show tonight. As Nicki is still sick, our team does not want to run the risk of getting others sick, and Nicki would not be able to give NOLA the show they deserve. We are working diligently to find a new date, so please hold onto your tickets, and we will inform you all soon.”
Minaj had performed March 15 at the Rolling Loud festival in Los Angeles. On March 16, she addressed her “Barbz” fans on X, formerly Twitter, posting that she didn’t feel well:
“Barbz pls send me healing energy. woke up feeling like I had Covid. Thank God I don’t. You guys are just everything. I appreciate you. I love you so much.”
On Instagram, she thanked fans for cheering her on while she struggled during her Rolling Loud performance: “Your love & beautiful energy is a huge part of why/how I got through the show.”
Many Minaj fans took to social media to express well-wishes for the star. Some, especially those who had already traveled to New Orleans for the show and incurred nonrefundable travel costs, voiced frustration at the last-minute cancellation.
Two days later, the star posted an apology on social media, promising she would return: “New Orleans, please accept my sincerest apologies for having to reschedule our date together. You mean so much to me & I hate that things didn’t go as planned. Within the next few days, I hope to update our schedule with a new date that I can give you 100% of myself…”
True to her word, fans who had purchased tickets through Ticketmaster received a message on April 5 with details about the rescheduled date.
Minaj had been slated to have eight days off between concerts at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn on May 1 and Houston’s Toyota Center on May 9. She now plans to be onstage in New Orleans on May 8.
The new date means the Smoothie King Center staff will have a busy 48 hours. Puerto Rican star Bad Bunny is scheduled to headline the Smoothie King Center on May 7. Just after his production is loaded out, Minaj’s elaborate stage set will start loading in.
