Akon Joins Gwen Stefani For The Sweet Escape Tour

[Damien J.]

Multi-talented superstar AKON is pleased to announce that he will be joining headliner Gwen Stefani on her upcoming "The Sweet Escape" tour. The 38-city trek starts on April 22nd in San Diego, CA at the Coors Amphitheater and ends on June 23rd in Irvine, CA at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater. The two collaborated recently on Stefani's musical gem "The Sweet Escape," the single and title track to Stefani's new album.

AKON's much anticipated tour announcement comes as his sophomore masterpiece Konvicted continues its hold on to the upper echelons of Billboard's Top 10 albums, coming in at # 7 this week and capping an incredible 2 month run that saw the acclaimed effort debut at #2. The CD garnered coveted platinum certification after only five weeks of release. AKON's two hit singles: "Smack That" and "I Wanna Love You" have proved to be mainstays on the top 10 of Billboard's Hot 100 singles charts with "I Wanna Love You" currently at #5 after 18 weeks on the chart. "Smack That" remains in the Top 10 for more than 20 weeks. Sales-wise, AKON's Konvicted has outperformed current CD releases from some of the best and brightest stars today including: Jay-Z, The Game, Fergie, and John Legend.

The unstoppable Konvicted also scores a Grammy nomination with the hit single "Smack That" being acknowledged in the Best Rap/Sung Collaboration category. The charismatic star will also be performing another big song from his new album, "Don't Matter," on Live With Regis & Kelly on February 28th. In addition to this, Konvicted is the breakthrough album of the year around the globe, rocketing towards platinum in the UK, France, Canada, South Africa, Ireland and New Zealand. "Smack That" has already hit #1 in the UK, France, Australia and New Zealand. With the success of his debut release, Trouble and the #1 international smash "Lonely," AKON has been certified gold or platinum in more than a dozen countries.

AKON's life story has also become one of the most inspirational music sagas in recent memory, turning his life around after a stint in prison by pursuing a career in music, notching an incredible total of 5 million in worldwide sales thanks to the success of his seminal debut album Trouble. The prolific singer/songwriter/producer has performed his two hit singles on the American Music Awards, Jimmy Kimmel Live and The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, NBC's Saturday Night Live and The Tonight Show With Jay Leno. AKON will be performing several live shows leading up to "The Sweet Escape" tour. Details on all his live events are available on his website www.Akononline.com.