A lawsuit between tour promoter Rowe Entertainment Inc. and singer Ne-Yo was settled and the artist will be paid $700,000. Ne-Yo filed suit against the concert promoter in January demanding to be compensated for the fact that he was dropped from an R. Kelly 2007 tour after just two performances.

Ne-Yo claimed that Rowe Entertainment Inc. cut him off the tour because he was upstaging R. Kelly, a fact declined by the latter’s representative who maintained that the cause was a contractual issue.

Rowe Entertainment Inc. did not respond to the lawsuit. Consequently, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Malcolm Mackey ruled that the company must pay the artist damages of $700,320.

“Since I was unable to receive the fully executed contract, I had no other alternative but to release Ne-Yo from the tour. From a business perspective, it would have been extremely difficult for me to continue under this cloud of uncertainty," said company president Leonard Rowe in a statement linked to the matter.

On the other hand, Ne-Yo claimed that the lack of signatures shouldn’t have been a problem because the two sides had agreed on all the material things verbally.

"The parties understood that the oral agreement was binding and would be binding even if a formal written agreement was never executed," the lawsuit read.

Ne-Yo – real name Shaffer Chimere Smith – has two successful singles in the United Kingdom top 40 and will release his third album called “Year Of The Gentleman” on 15 September.