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Ne-Yo was just awarded $700,000 by a Los Angeles judge for performing two dates on R. Kelly's "Trapped In This Concert," ahem, "Double Up" --tour last fall.

When Ne-Yo was cut from the bill it was rumored to be the result of jealously from R. Kelly's camp who allegedly felt that the new jack superstar R&B singer and songwriter's opening act was stealing too much of R. Kelly's thunder.

Since Ne-Yo was supposed to make $785,000 from the 25-date run, Superior Court Judge Malcolm Mackey ordered R. Kelly's promoter Rowe Entertainment to double up and pay Ne-Yo for his losses.

I haven't seen a payout this good since Mariah Carey post-Glitter got dropped from Virgin Records and the label giant paid out most of her $80 million contract.

Sounds like I need more contracts in my life.

Actually, I should give Judge Mackey a call. Maybe I can get a settlement. I attended the show when it hit Los Angeles and will have to admit that R. Kelly's seemingly impromptu set was so confusing and thrown together that it felt like a bad rap concert. Even though I received comp tickets, I'm wondering if I can get some money back.

Surprisingly, I felt in the minority that night. The R. Kelly die hards seemed delusional. They were hysterical, giving him props as if he was putting on a good show. Though I've seen Ne-Yo perform a half dozen times and am sure that his show would have been better than R. Kelly's, the R. Kelly fans were obviously too drunk on the "Step In The Name Of Love" Kool-Aide to give a care.

R. Kelly could have just let Ne-Yo earn his money. Oh well.