Touring It Up: Fantasia Announces ‘Back to Me’ Nationwide Tour Alongside Eric Benet and Kandi Burruss

R&B singer Fantasia Barrino, will kick-off her first headlining tour, entitled ‘Back To Me,’. The 30 city nationwide tour kicks off on November 4th in Richmond, VA making stops across the country in Atlanta, Philadelphia, Charlotte, Los Angeles, New York, Memphis and Chicago. It will conclude by bringing in the New Year on January 1st in St. Louis, MO.

Announcing the news, she says:

“I’m so excited about this tour and having the chance to connect with my fans, the people that love me and have been supporting me through everything,” Fantasia states in a press release. “This tour is going to be a real special, intimate experience for them and for me.”

The former “American Idol” and reality star survived a drug overdose on August 9 and later shocked fans by revealing the scare wasn’t an accident and she meant to take her own life.

Barrino was quick to move forward with her music career; she took the first step toward putting the incident behind her with a Las Vegas concert on August 27 – her first performance after the suicide attempt – and the singer is pushing through her personal struggles by diving back into work.

Fantasia, an eight-time Grammy nominee, begins this tour after the critically acclaimed release of her third studio album, ‘Back To Me’ which debuted at #1 on the Billboard R&B Albums chart and #2 on Billboard’s Top 200 Albums chart, according to Nielsen SoundScan. The album marks Fantasia’s first #1 R&B album and her highest Billboard Top 200 chart ranking.

PLEASE NOTE!: Subscribers of Fantasia’s newsletter can take advantage of a concert ticket pre-sale opportunity 1 day prior to general public on sales. The first round of presales for selected dates began on September 30th from 10:00am-10:00pm. If you’re not already signed up, make sure you sign up at FantasiaOfficial.com for up-to-date tour information and future pre-sale opportunities.

In 2004, the High Point, North Carolina native became the season three winner of Fox’s American Idol. Later that year, Fantasia released her platinum-selling debut album ‘Free Yourself’ on J Records.

Three-time Grammy Award nominee Eric Benet and Grammy Award winning singer/songwriter/producer Kandi Burruss will join Fantasia on tour.

“The Real Housewives of Atlanta,” says she’s looking forward to the upcoming tour, telling her Twitter followers, 

“I’m going on tour with my girl Fantasia in November! It’s gonna be so fun.”

Kandi Burruss’ sophomore effort ‘Kandi Koated’ is due in stores on November 23rd. Eric Benet is also planning to drop his new record, ‘Lost In Time,’ this fall.

Below is the schedule for her current tour dates:

Thur Nov 4 Richmond, VA Landmark Theater
Fri Nov 5 Norfolk, VA Chrysler Hall
Sat Nov 6 Philadelphia, PA Tower Theatre
Sun Nov 7 Baltimore, MD Meyerhoff Symphony Hall
Wed Nov 10 Savannah, GA Johnny Mercer Theatre
Thur Nov 11 Atlanta, GA Fox Theater
Fri Nov 12 Tampa, FL Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center
Sat Nov 13 Jacksonville, FL Moran Theatre
Sun Nov14 Miami, FL James L. Knight Center
Wed Nov17 Charlotte, NC Ovens Auditorium
Thur Nov18 Greensboro, NC War Memorial Auditorium
Fri Nov 19 Columbia, SC Township Auditorium
Sat Nov 20 Birmingham, AL BJCC Concert Hall
Wed Nov 24 Los Angeles, CA Nokia Theatre L.A. Live
Fri Nov 26 San Diego, CA Copley Symphony Hall
Sat Nov 27 Oakland, CA Paramount Theatre
Thur Dec 2 Dallas, TX Verizon Theatre at Grand Prairie
Fri Dec 3 Southaven, MS DeSoto Civic Center
Sat Dec 4 New Orleans, LA Kiefer Uno Lakefront Arena
Sun Dec 5 Houston, TX Reliant Arena
Wed Dec 8 Indianapolis, IN Murat Theatre at Old National Centre
Thur Dec 9 Louisville, KY Louisville Palace Theatre
Fri Dec 10 Detroit, MI Fox Theatre
Sat Dec 11 Cincinnati, OH Procter and Gamble at Aronoff Centre
Sun Dec 12 Augusta, GA Bell Auditorium
Mon Dec 27 New York City, NY Beacon Theatre
Tue Dec 28 Washington, D.C. DAR Constitution Hall
Wed Dec 29 Cleveland, OH State Theatre
Thu Dec 30 Chicago, IL Auditorium Theatre
Sat Jan 1 St. Louis, MO Fox Theatre

Sources: Various Sources

Wedding Bells: T.I. & Tiny Officially Say I Do in Three Cities

T.I. and longtime girlfriend Tameka “Tiny” Cottle have officially tied the knot on Saturday, July 31, 2010 in Miami, according to MTV News. The nuptials are best described as a fairytale wedding! After exchanging vows at the courthouse on Friday, TI and Tiny did it up right on Miami’s Star Island Saturday. Tiny wore a Valentino gown and TI wore a white tuxedo by Prada. They arrived at the ceremony in a horse-drawn carriage that looked like Cinderella’s pumpkin. The party even included fireworks.

The guest list reportedly included names like Kandi Burruss from The Real Housewives of Atlanta, and Young Dro, Yung LA and Rozonda “Chilli” Thomas, Usher, Nelly, Jermaine Dupri and more partied until the wee hours of the morning at Cameo Nightclub last night.  Rihanna was also spotted in the building after performing at American Airlines Arena. Bow Wow and Angela Simmons were there too. El DeBarge sang for the happy couple. After the wedding, the new Mr. and Mrs. Harris went to Atlanta and then Las Vegas for more celebrations.

Tiny’s rep Prince Kennedy denied rumors that the couple is to say “I do” in yet another locale. “A lot of people initially heard they were doing it in Hawaii. They are not,” says Kennedy.

Though it would seem the couple has made the wedding a big to-do, Tiny said earlier this year she wanted a “private” wedding and was waiting for the right moment to make it official.

“We living, we’re happy, we’re in love. I mean, it’s no doubt in my mind that he doesn’t love every piece of me and vice versa, so we’re just doing what’s comfortable and what works for us,” Tiny told Vibe magazine. “Tiny and T.I.: Not for the world. When we get ready to make a move, we will make it. We just can’t do it for everybody.”

Check out some photos from their wedding night below….

Photos via Necole Bitchie, TMZ, Miss Jia.com

“Congrats to T.I. & Tiny!”