The speculation comes amid rumours over in Australia – where the Hotline Bling star is currently touring – that his remaining shows in the country will no longer go ahead either.
Reports also speculate that the rapper and his elaborate stage equipment are headed out of Australasia before the tour is set to finish.
Drake (real name Aubrey Drake Graham) performed the 12th show of his Anita Max Win Australian tour at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre last night, and now has a week’s break from touring before he’s due to return to the venue next Tuesday.
A show at Sydney’s Qudos Bank Arena is set to follow on Friday March 7, ahead of two dates in New Zealand at Auckland’s Spark Arena on March 15 and 16.
But the Courier Mail reports that the rapper’s stage equipment, including a giant clear walkway used in every show of the tour, will be shipped to Europe this week.
The rapper has been in Australia since the start of February.
However, fans gearing up for the show were notified by Ticketmaster late last month that the original dates had been changed because of “scheduling conflicts”.
The revised dates for his Auckland shows were changed to March 15 and March 16.
Tickets to Drake's Kiwi shows now have "no availability" on Ticketmaster after having plenty just days ago. Photo / Screenshot, Ticketmaster NZ
Speculation Drake might be pulling the remaining dates due to poor ticket sales initially seems false: Both his Brisbane and Sydney tour dates are showing up on ticketing sites as virtually sold out, save for a handful of wheelchair-accessible seats.
However, fans on Reddit who’ve been keeping a close eye on dates claim that, as recently as this week, there were ample tickets available for all shows, and wondered if the remaining tickets had instead been taken off sale.
“All the shows had tons of tickets left and then were randomly marked as no availability,” one fan claimed.
Drake is currently touring Australia. Photo / Prince Williams.
Another alleged of the Brisbane show that “even yesterday, it was showing as having at least 20 sections with tickets still available across all price categories. This morning? Absolutely nothing”.
Drake’s upcoming dates are showing up as sold out – but fans claim earlier this week there were heaps of tickets left.
On Monday, the official Ticketmaster NZ site said tickets to both New Zealand shows had “no availability”.
The Courier-Mail also reports that, according to flight tracking websites, Drake’s private jet was scheduled to leave Brisbane this morning for Fiji, a three-and-a-half-hour flight away.
Of course, it’s not unusual for musicians touring Australia to use their private planes to take quick mid-tour breaks, and with Drake not due back on stage again until next Tuesday, he’d have ample time to return to Brisbane.
The Herald and news.com.au have this morning contacted Drake’s Australian tour promoter Live Nation for comment, with a representative saying they had “no comment” to make.
The rapper’s Australian jaunt has been a headline-making affair so far, with Drake even donning a T-shirt on stage this week that made reference to a local influencer feud.
Beyond that there have been hotel drone dramas, audience backlash over concert delays – and of course, the entire tour taking place under the shadow of his ongoing beef with fellow rapper Kendrick Lamar, who used his Super Bowl halftime show earlier this month as an excuse to twist the knife.
