Source: Johnny Nunez / Getty
In a new update, the Verzuz team announced that the hit-for-hit battle between Ashanti and Keyshia Cole, which was supposed to happen tomorrow night (January 09), is being postponed to a future, undisclosed date. This makes it the second time the date for the battle between the songstresses has been changed, the first being due to Ashanti testing positive for COVID-19.
The statement, posted on the official Verzuz TV Instagram page and Twitter, said they were taking into consideration the troubling week following the storming of the Capitol by Trump supporters, as well as COVID cases still increasing. Because of those things, the team thought it was best to return to the format of having battles done from separate locations as opposed to the artists meeting in a studio, which they started doing with the Beenie Man and Bounty Killer battle. They said that the battles would return in several weeks and that they looked forward to their upcoming events.
“This has been an emotional week. In addition, as COVID-19 numbers continue to increase, safety is a top priority for us,” the statement read. “As much as we enjoy having everyone together in the same room, to protect the artists and everyone who works with us in putting the shows together, we’ll be going back to separate locations for a bit. We’re excited for the next few events, and look forward to getting back to the show in the coming weeks.”
Keyshia, interesting enough, commented on the Instagram announcement with the “unamused face” emoji, making it clear her frustration with the situation.
Twitter seemed to share the same feelings as her, with many who were anticipating the battle between Ashanti and Keyshia now just being over all the cancelations and empty promises. Some even think Ashanti is personally postponing the battle, not necessarily because she had COVID, but because they believe she doesn’t know if she can win again the “Let It Go” singer.
Even though Ashanti shared via her Instagram a few days ago that she was “starting off the new year amazing and COVID free,” and the Verzuz has had artists meet up in close quarters despite the ongoing pandemic when they originally distanced to be safe, now they’re saying COVID is the reason the battle is being pushed back again.
If you were waiting to see the Ashanti and Keyshia Cole sing all their best hits back to back, you’re unfortunately going to have to wait an unknown amount of time longer — or just pass on the whole thing at this point.
