The tour concluded in Vancouver on December 19, 2007. Kelly flew back to Chicago to focus on his trial. Within a decade, the narrative around the R. Kelly Double Up Tour would sour dramatically.
Following the 2019 documentary Surviving R. Kelly, many major streaming services quietly removed the Double Up tour footage. Keyshia Cole and Ne-Yo, who once shared a stage with Kelly, have since publicly disavowed him, expressing regret for participating in the tour.
T-Pain reflected on the tour in a 2021 interview, saying, "Back then, you just saw the talent. You didn't see the monster. The Double Up tour was a party, man. But looking back... it's complicated." r kelly double up tour
While the tour supported the Double Up album, Kelly understood that the audience wanted the deep cuts. A leaked setlist from the Houston stop at the Toyota Center (September 2007) reveals a 32-song marathon that lasted nearly three hours.
The "Double Up" Segments (The Hustle) The show opened with a pyrotechnic explosion as Kelly descended from the ceiling singing The Return of the Freak. He immediately transitioned into the album's title track Double Up (featuring a pre-recorded verse from Snoop Dogg). Other high-energy tracks included: The tour concluded in Vancouver on December 19, 2007
The "Love Letter" Segments (The Crooner) Halfway through, the bass cut out. A single white spotlight hit the Steinway piano. This is where the R. Kelly Double Up Tour transcended a typical concert. Kelly sat at the keys for a 45-minute medley that stripped the bravado away:
Musically, the tour was a victory lap. Kelly’s catalog from 1992–2007 is objectively one of the greatest in R&B history, and the setlist reflected that. He opened with the bombastic “The Champ” (a Double Up track sampling the Rocky theme) before immediately pivoting to classics. The "Love Letter" Segments (The Crooner) Halfway through,
Highlights included:
The Double Up tracks—particularly “Same Girl” (where he dueted with a pre-recorded Usher on screens) and “Rock Star”—landed well, though they lacked the timelessness of his 90s work.
For better or worse, the R. Kelly Double Up Tour defined late-2000s urban fashion. Kelly wore customized throwback jerseys (Chicago Bulls, of course), oversized True Religion jeans, and the infamous "Leprechaun boots" (tan suede Timbalands). Merchandise booths sold out of "Double Up" dog tags and "Team Kells" bandanas. Today, these items are rare collector’s pieces, often selling for hundreds of dollars on eBay as relics of a pre-#MuteRKelly era.