Grammy/Oscar winner Jennifer Hudson will make her first-ever appearance at the Essence Music Festival in New Orleans July 1, 2, and 3, show organizers said Tuesday.

The “Where U At?” songstress will be joined by R&B icons like Mavis Staples, Chaka Khan, Boyz II Men, and the recently-reunited New Edition.

The parade of stars eviously announced as part of the lineup includes Kem, Miguel, Naughty By Nature, Doug E. Fresh, Marsha Ambrosius, formerly of Floetry, Eric Benet, Vanessa Bell Armstrong, Trin-i-tee 5:7 and Brian Courtney Wilson have been added to the previously announced line-up, which includes Kanye West, Mary J. Blige, Trey Songz, Jill Scott, Charlie Wilson, Fantasia, George Clinton, and Macy Gray.

For Ticket Info, Visit EssenceMusicFestival.com….

Enrique Iglesias was originally tipped to support Britney, but pulled out of negotiations just hours after the tour was announced. Tour sources said Minaj would be an “infinitely better” supporting act than Iglesias, and that she was expected to generate more ticket sales. Minaj currently has two singles on the Billboard Top 100 — “Moment 4 Life” and “Did It On ‘Em.”

The “Only Girl in the World” is going to be the only girl attending her concerts!

Poor Rihanna is having a really hard time selling tickets to her US summer tour. Having recently completed the Australian leg of her last tour, the flame-haired songstress is bringing her talents back to The States. Much to her chagrin, however, her Loud show has been plagued by poor sales. Even tapping “Fuck You” hitmaker Cee-Lo Green as a headliner hasn’t helped and RiRi’s been advised by her manager Jay Brown to cancel some shows.

According to The Post, less than 4,000 tickets have been sold to Rihanna’s Beantown opener on July 24, but she needs to sell at least 15,000 to break even.

“It’s been a big disappointment,” a source told The New York Post’s Page Six Column Tuesday, adding that Rihanna has yet to amass the fanbase needed to sell-out arenas. “The ticket sales in big US cities like Boston are so bad, they will barely cover basics like the lighting and other arena costs. Tour managers are begging local radio stations to do giveaways.”

Hello, Good Morning: Diddy & ‘Em are hitting the road! Diddy-Dirty Money — featuring Diddy, Dawn Richard, and Kalenna Harper — are heading out on their first-ever US tour.

The group will kick off a 20-city concert tour in Minneapolis next month, Interscope Records said Tuesday. Tickets for their upcoming shows went on sale this week. Diddy-Dirty Money released their debut album, Last Train to Paris, in December. The album features guest appearances by T.I., Lil Wayne, Justin Timberlake, Usher, Drake, Chris Brown, Grace Jones, Trey Songz, and Bilal. Their CD includes the hit singles “Hello, Good Morning,” “Loving You No More,” the Swizz Beatz-assisted “Ass on the Floor,” the international top 10 hit “Coming Home.”
It also featured guest spots from Justin Timberlake, Usher, Drake, Lil Wayne, and more.

The Coming Home Tour, sponsored by BET Live and Ciroc Tour Dates:

» 4/13 – Minneapolis, MN @ Epic Center
» 4/14 – Chicago, IL @ House of Blues
» 4/15 – Detroit, MI @ Sound Board – MotorCity Casino
» 4/20 – Toronto, ON @ Kool Haus
» 4/21 – Boston, MA @ House of Blues
» 4/22 – New York, NY @ Hammerstein Ballroom
» 4/23 – Atlantic City, NJ @ Showboat
» 4/24 – Norfolk, VA @ The NorVa
» 4/26 – Atlanta, GA @ Tabernacle
» 4/28 – Jacksonville, FL @ Plush
» 4/29 – Melbourne, FL @ Levelz
» 4/30 – St. Petersburg, FL @ Jannus Landing
» 5/1 – Orlando, FL @ House of Blues
» 5/6 – San Francisco, CA @ Warfield Theatre
» 5/7 – Los Angeles, CA @ Club Nokia
» 5/8 – Anaheim, CA @ The Grove
» 5/10 – Phoenix, AZ @ Ovations Live Showroom
» 5/12 – Houston, TX @ Warehouse Live
» 5/14 – Kansas City, MO @ Midland Theatre
» 5/15 – St. Louis, MO @ The Pageant

Mary J. Blige, Kanye West, Jill Scott, and Trey Songz will headline the 2011 Essence Music Festival in New Orleans this summer.

The festival, which will be held July 1-3, will also feature performances from Charlie Wilson, Fantasia, Boyz II Men, Stephanie Mills, George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic, Macy Gray, Dwele, Alexander O’Neal & Cherrelle, Mint Condition, MC Lyte, and Kourtney Heart among others.

Visit Essence.com/Festival for more information….

Bruno Mars and Janelle Monae are hitting the road together fresh off their electrifying performance at Sunday 53rd Annual Grammy Awards.

Dubbed the Hooligans in Wondaland Tour, the trek will take place in May and June, with British singer/rapper Plan B set to open on select dates, Billboard said Thursday.

The US trek will take place in May and June after Bruno and Janelle each get back from their respective European tours. Official tour dates and venues for the Wondaland tour have yet to be announced.

Sade is hitting the road with John Legend. The smooth jazz icon announced last week that the multi award-winning Legend will join her as the supporting act for her upcoming summer tour of the US. The run kicks off on June 16 with a stop at the 1st Mariner Arena in Baltimore before wrapping up in Anaheim on Aug. 30.

The tour will support Sade’s Grammy-nominated 2010 release Soldier of Love.

“I’m very excited to join Sade on her summer tour. She is an incomparable artist and I’m honored to share the stage with her. I know we’ll provide our fans with an experience to remember. I can’t wait to start the tour,” Legend said in a statement last week.

Sade with Special Guest John Legend Tour Dates:

June 16
Baltimore, MD
1st Mariner Arena

June 19
Philadelphia, PA
Wells Fargo Center

June 21
Uniondale, NY
Nassau Coliseum

June 24
East Rutherford, NJ
Izod Center

June 28
Toronto, ON
Air Canada Centre

June 30
Montreal, QC
Bell Centre

July 6
Boston, MA
TD Garden

July 15
Ft. Lauderdale, FL
BankAtlantic Center

July 17
Orlando, FL
Amway Center

August 5
Chicago, IL
United Center

August 6
Chicago, IL
United Center

August 13
Vancouver, BC
Rogers Arena

August 19
Los Angeles, CA
Staples Center

August 20
Los Angeles, CA
Staples Center

August 25
San Jose, CA
HP Pavilion

August 27
Oakland, CA
Oracle Arena

August 30
Anaheim, CA
Honda Center

Lauryn Hill continues to softly kill what’s left of her cult fanbase after showing up late for yet another show on her North American Winter Tour.

An unapologetic Hill angered her fans for the second time in a month after keeping the audience waiting for three hours in Atlanta and changing the arrangement of her songs beyond recognition, according to concertgoers in attendence.

Lauryn was supposed to begin her set at at Center Stage in the ATL at 9 PM last Friday, Jan. 14, instead she didn’t start he performance until midnight and then declared she was tired of “playing the same music night after night” and performed several unfamiliar versions of her hit songs.

Last year, the former Fugee kept a crowd of angry Washingtonians waiting until almost midnight because “she had to wait for her manicure to dry.” And just last month, Lauryn — who is touring small venues across the country –was booed at a venue in Brooklyn after taking the stage almost four hours behind schedule. She explained that delay by defiantly telling fans that she was “worth the wait.”

The phrase “Bitch Puhleeze” springs to mind….

Janet Jackson’s upcoming world tour is already proving to be a hit with the diva’s fans Stateside.

Tickets for Janet’s April 14 concert at the Gibson Amphitheatre in Los Angeles sold out just 10 minutes after tickets went on sale on Friday morning .

A spokesman for Live Nation tells the Los Angeles Times they had to add another date for April 15 just to keep up with demand.

Janet’s Number Ones: Up Close and Personal World Tour promises to treat fans to a lengthy set of every one of the singing star’s Top 10 hits. The global trek is Janet’s first since 2008′s Rock Witchu Tour, which was marred by several problems, including poor ticket sales.

“These concerts will be different from anything I have ever done. I will be as up close and personal as possible. These concerts are not about special effects,” Janet said in a statement earlier this month. “This is a love affair between me and those of you who have supported me and my work for all these years. I’ll be singing and dancing from my heart. The music will all be songs that you’ve made number ones for me. Let’s go!”

CLICK HERE To Take A Peek At Miss Jackson’s 2011 North American Tour Dates…

Philly’s own Boyz II Men — who celebrated 20 years of recording in 2010 — say they’re considering taking residency in Las Vegas, similar to a move pulled by music heavyweights like Cher and Madonna, after booking a four-week engagement at the Flamingo this week.

“This is something we’ve always wanted to do but it hasn’t panned out yet,” group co-founder Nathan Morris told The Las Vegas Review-Journal last weekend. “We’ve been a touring group for so many years, running around the world, and it kind of gets tiring. We understand the music landscape has changed but one thing that is a constant is shows. We’re trying to see if any casino is open to having us stay.”