Reports suggest Iglesias didn't want to be perceived as Brit's opening act.
By Gil Kaufman
Enrique Iglesias
Photo: Bryan Bedder/ Getty Images
Not long after Britney Spears announced that she would be hitting the road this summer on a superstar double bill with Enrique Iglesias, reports emerged that Iglesias had backed out of the deal.
Just hours after the news dropped on Tuesday, Billboard reported that Iglesias had pulled out of the tour, on which he was expected to perform as a co-headliner instead of a traditional opening act.
Later in the day, Billboard posted a follow-up suggesting that negotiations were under way that could get Enrique back onboard for the outing. Among the reported sticking points were cash, that is, whether Iglesias would get some additional box-office receipts in addition to his show guarantee, but an unnamed source said the main hang-up was "perception."
"Iglesias is a headlining artist and has been for some time, and would carry his own fully-themed production on the tour," the magazine reported. "The language in the carefully worded press release — which was withdrawn from certain outlets shortly after it was sent today — stated the pair would 'tour together' but stopped short of calling it a 'co-headlining' tour, the phrase commonly used for such superstar pairings as Billy Joel and Elton John, for example."
Given that the announcement was made on the day Britney's Femme Fatale dropped and was coordinated with her "Good Morning America" appearance, the general perception was that it was her headlining tour and that she would close the show. Unnamed sources also told the magazine that Spears would be pulling down "several times" the pay Iglesias was guaranteed.
Iglesias is slated to be on the road on his own European headlining tour until six days before the Spears tour is scheduled to kick off.
"Unfortunately, Enrique Iglesias and Britney Spears will not be touring together. Despite initial reports based on formal discussions of the possible run, Enrique will continue on his solo tour in support of his new album Euphoria," his spokesperson told Reuters. "Enrique has great respect for Britney and is a longtime fan of her work. He is very sorry for the confusion this might have caused to anyone."
Spears made the tour announcement on "GMA" on Tuesday morning, revealing that the outing is scheduled to kick off on June 17 in Sacramento and will run for 26 dates through North America, winding up on August 13 in Toronto. She told host Robin Roberts, "I'm going on tour with Enrique Iglesias in June."
Don't miss "Britney Spears: I Am the Femme Fatale" on Sunday, April 3, at 9 p.m. ET on MTV.
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