R Kelly Double Up Tour Official

The tour featured rotating openers including Keyshia Cole, J. Holiday, and gasp a then-unknown Lady Gaga (for a brief stretch in late 2007). Seeing Gaga—who would later become a beacon of survivor advocacy—warm up a crowd for R. Kelly is a bizarre footnote in pop history.

: The tour was originally scheduled to last approximately two months, running through early 2008. Production and Stage Design r kelly double up tour

What should have been 5 minutes became a 20-minute drag. Kelly performed a spoken-word, acted-out version of chapters 1–5, complete with a bed prop, a fake gun, and a man in a dress (the “Cathy” character). By 2007, the novelty had worn thin. Many fans used this as a bathroom break. The tour featured rotating openers including Keyshia Cole, J

If the music was memorable, the backstage drama proved to be legendary. Kelly is a bizarre footnote in pop history

The Double Up album was a defining project in the R. Kelly canon, featuring major production and guest spots from rap and R&B heavyweights like Swizz Beatz, Snoop Dogg, and T-Pain. To support the record, R. Kelly launched a highly anticipated North American tour.