The first show of Usher and Chris Brown’s five-night residency at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta sounds like it didn’t go down as well as it should have, and Chris Brown has seemingly already shut down rumors that the pair had a falling out.
As reported by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Usher and Chris Brown kicked off their five-night run at the stadium on Thursday (Nov. 5) as part of their R&B Tour, but the show started substantially later than planned, and the duo didn’t share a single moment onstage together. TMZ also reported that the show on Thursday started two-and-a-half hours late and, as a result, they performed for less time than expected. The series of issues regarding the show has led to fans questioning whether Usher and Chris Brown have had a falling out or are in some sort of feud.
On Friday (Nov. 6), TMZ came through with an explanation. The outlet claimed that the headliners got into a “verbal argument” over whether to delay the show because traffic around the venue was causing fans to arrive late. Per the outlet, Chris wanted to perform while Usher was pulling for a delay.
A source also informed the outlet that the singers have been “extremely competitive” for the entire run of the tour.
In a post shared on his Instagram Stories, Brown appeared to respond to the whole thing by telling fans not to pay attention. “Internet 🧢,” Brown wrote. “Don’t fall for it.”
It’s not a great start for the duo’s historic five-night run in Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium, which surpasses Beyoncé’s previous record of most nights performed there during a single tour stop with four shows. They’re expected to play more shows at the venue on Friday (Nov. 6), Sunday (Nov. 8), Tuesday (Nov. 10), and Wednesday (Nov. 11). Other criticisms of the show included visuals that some users flagged as AI.
The duo has typically divided their show into ten segments during the tour, alternating between collaborative songs and solo sets. But their first Atlanta show skipped the duets.
After the five-night run in Atlanta, they’re also scheduled to perform in Los Angeles, New Orleans, Houston, Miami, and Tampa.