American singer Nicki Minaj has pulled out of her upcoming concert in Saudi Arabia, which was scheduled as one of the headline acts of the Jeddah World Fest.

Minaj was scheduled to perform on July 18 in Jeddah, sharing the spotlight with singer Liam Payne and DJ Steve Aoki.

However, less than 10 days before her scheduled gig, the ‘Anaconda’ singer confirmed that she would not be performing after all. Minaj’s name has also been removed from the line-up on the official Jeddah World Fest website, with a statement put out on the Facebook page of the event.

“Unfortunately Nicki Minaj has canceled her live performance at Jeddah World Fest on July 18th due to personal reasons. Ticket refunds will be offered if desired. Please note the second wave of performers will be announced this week,” it reads.

Over the past several months, Saudi Arabia has seen performances by top-billed international artists, including the Backstreet Boys, Mariah Carey, Enrique Iglesias, the Black Eyed Peas, rapper Sean Paul, and DJs David Guetta and Tiesto.

Minaj’s concert was being hailed by many in Saudi Arabia as part of the Kingdom’s drive to bring more international acts to the country, months after it opened doors to cinema houses.

Saudi Arabia’s decision to open up entertainment and culture is part of its Vision 2030 aspirations. It has drawn up multibillion-dollar projects that are also expected to create job opportunities.