TORONTO — Canadian smartphone company BlackBerry is ending its relationship with singer Alicia Keys.
In a statement issued Thursday, the Ontario company said the collaboration ends Jan. 30.
“We thank Alicia for her many contributions including providing creative direction for the BlackBerry Keep Moving Project which attracted more than 40 million visits, advocating for women in STEM and launching the BlackBerry Scholars Program,” the statement read.
Keys was introduced last January as BlackBerry’s Global Creative Director with no mention that her involvement would last only a year.
The “Girl on Fire” singer promised to “work closely with the app designers and developers, the content creators, the retailers and the carriers to really explore this BlackBerry 10 platform and create ideas for its future.”
BlackBerry 10 sales were disappointing, though, as consumers favoured Apple iPhones and Google Android.
The company’s shares fell 35 per cent in the last year and it removed several top executives, including CEO Thorsten Heins.
BlackBerry said Thursday it “enjoyed the opportunity to work with such an incredibly talented and passionate individual.”
In 2011, Lady Gaga was named creative director for Polaroid. The company filed for bankruptcy within months.
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