John Legend to pair up with Sade for summer tour

Sade, which is prepping its first tour since 2001, has announced that soul crooner John Legend will join the band on its 50-date summer trek.

The tour, which is in support of last year’s critically acclaimed “Soldier of Love” -- the band’s first in a decade -- begins June 16 in Baltimore.

The Live Nation-produced tour will make a handful of stops in the Southland area, playing Staples Center on Aug. 19 and 20. Because of demand, a third date has been added at Anaheim’s Honda Center for Aug. 30.

Legend is nominated for five Grammy Awards for “Wake Up!,” his joint work with the Roots, and Sade is up for two awards at Sunday's ceremony: Best pop performance by a duo or group with vocals for its hit “Babyfather” and best R&B performance by a duo or group with vocals for “Soldier of Love.”

“Soldier of Love” has logged more than 1 million sales in the U.S.

Tickets are available through Ticketmaster and LiveNation.

Check out the announced dates after the jump; the rest of the cities will be released soon:

June 16 — Baltimore, 1st Mariner Arena
June 19 — Philadelphia, Wells Fargo Center
June 21 — Uniondale, N.Y., Nassau Coliseum
June 24 — East Rutherford, N.J., Izod Center
June 28 — Toronto, Air Canada Centre
June 30 — Montreal, Bell Centre
July 6 — Boston, TD Garden
July 15 — Ft. Lauderdale, BankAtlantic Center
July 17 — Orlando, Amway Center
Aug. 5 — Chicago, United Center
Aug. 6 — Chicago, United Center
Aug. 13 — Vancouver, Canada, Rogers Arena
Aug. 19 — Los Angeles, Staples Center
Aug. 20 — Los Angeles, Staples Center
Aug. 25 — San Jose, HP Pavilion
Aug. 27 — Oakland, Oracle Arena
Aug. 30 — Anaheim, Honda Center

-- Gerrick D. Kennedy
twitter.com/GerrickKennedy

Photos: (Left) Sade. Credit: Sophie Muller

(Right) John Legend at the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival. Credit: Matt Carr / Getty Images