Sorry, Ashanti and Keyshia Cole fans. The Verzuz that was supposed to go down between the two R&B queens on Saturday (Dec. 12) has been canceled.
Millions of supporters of the singers/songwriters were waiting for the epic night for months now. Earlier in the year, Cole teased a potential battle on Instagram. “My fans sent me this [Timbaland], [Swizz Beatz], [Ashanti]. Is this accurate?” she commented on a post that ranked both her and Ashanti’s hits. Cole even tagged the Verzuz IG account.
Then, later on Wednesday Dec. 2, Cole confirmed that she was, indeed, set to go head to head in a battle on the IG Live series. “How are you guys LONG TIME NO HEAR!!!” the “Love” singer wrote on social media. “Verzuz BATTLE OTW.” It wouldn’t be confirmed until a couple of days later that her opponent would be who almost everyone wanted Cole to go up against: The former Murder Inc. star.
Immediately, Black Twitter was in shambles with high levels of excitement because fans could not wait to see the two music legends duke it out. “All Keyshia Cole have is hits!! Don’t play with her,” one person tweeted. “Keyshia Cole with the red and blonde hair was an era that I’ll forever stan,” another wrote.
The memes that poked fun at how fans would be reacting when their favorite song came on were endless and downright hilarious. Many were even saying that they wanted Cole to battle with the gap she previously had, and Ashanti to bring back her sideburns.
The artists were also excited for the big night and began selling Verzuz merch earlier this week in anticipation for it.
Unfortunately, it looks like we’ll have to wait another day to see Cole and Ashanti bring back those good early 2000s vibes with their many classic hits.
Le sigh.