Alicia Keys is all about promoting her new album As I Am and meeting her fans, but if the money ain’t right…don’t expect her to show! And that’s exactly what went down Tuesday night. Page Six & NYDailyNews are reporting, the singer was a no show at her own party at Pacha. Supposedly, the promoters negotiated to pay her $15,000 but that night they wound up being $4,000 short. As the promoters scrambled to get the missing money, Keys circled the block for about an hour in her car before she got tired of waiting and headed home!
Alicia was slated for a midnight arrival, but by the time 1:30 a.m. rolled around, her bodyguards, friends and even boyfriend were all inside waiting for her. Outside, Keys drove around the neighborhood. “These promoters were digging in their pockets, looking for cash, and were still short. The owner of the club even offered to pay the remainder of the owed money himself, just to get her in the club.” That’s where fans who’d paid $25 a pop were waiting, says the spywitness: “One eight-months-pregnant lady, who is an Alicia Keys superfan, showed up and waited for hours just to see her.”
Keys’ manager, Jeff Robinson, told us, “This is the first I’ve heard of that,” when we asked him about the lack of payment. “I never heard she was getting paid at all.” Then why did Alicia not go inside even to meet her boyfriend? “Well, there was a lot of mismanagement by these club promoters, and that’s about all I know.” Keys’ fans got the shortest end of the stick, as many went home dejected after missing their idol. Usually devoted to her fans, Keys may have had no idea that the people at the club had paid to see her.
Meanwhile her mouthpiece, Jeanine McLean, claims otherwise:
“She was going to go through, have a drink and celebrate as a favor to the club. But when she got there, there was no security and the crowd was rough. She sat there waiting for them to get it together for an hour.”
What can you say, this former Harlemnite is about her paper!!!
Anywhoo, check out more photos from Alicia’s other album release party at The Grand.