Ashanti Tests COVID19, Verzuz Battle Postponed
About an hour before the legendary Verzuz battle between Ashanti and Keyshia Cole was scheduled to go live, Ashanti posted to social media that she has tested positive for Coronavirus 2019.
“I can’t believe I’m saying this but I tested positive for COVID-19,” Ashanti said in her post. She apparently was trying to continue on with the event with a simple change of location, but the team at Verzuz made a decision to postpone the event.
“Unfortunately, we have to postpone tonight’s @Ashanti vs @KeyshiaCole #VERZUZ. Ashanti tested positive for COVID-19 beforehand, and we cannot put anyone at risk in the process.”
The Ladies Night Keyshia Cole Verzuz Ashanti battle was announced earlier this month and fans eagerly anticipated the showdown. Now they will have to wait until the new date of January 9th to see which diva will come out on top.
Interestingly enough, the post also says this is the first time this has happened so close to showtime which means some other artists from previous battles may have tested positive for COVID-19.
Verzuz Going Viral
Music producers Swizz Beatz and Timbaland created “Verzuz” in a time when everyone was glued to their devices and being bombarded with tons of bad news because of the pandemic. The battles pit one artist against another although no real winner is chosen.
Fans get the chance to vibe out to the music they love and find themselves distracted by something positive.
Timbaland and Swizz Beats were the very first battle to “air” on April 11, and the first few battles were done online. Then they began having live events after it became safe to do so.
So far, the series has included the biggest names in Hip Hop and R&B and brought in millions of views. Whether it was started as a feel-good thing or not, Verzuz has changed the entertainment game and has the probability to be around for a very long time.