Update: a rep for Naya Rivera has denied that she has been dropped from Columbia Records in an online statement, but has not returned request for contact. Rivera is not listed as a Columbia artist on the label’s official web site. She is still featured in the previously released “Glee” cast recordings on Columbia.
Naya Rivera is no longer on the Columbia Records roster, multiple sources have confirmed to Billboard. The “Glee” star signed with the label in 2011, and did not release a full-length with Columbia.
The 27-year-old, who plays Santana Lopez on the hit Fox series, was one of the first “Glee” actors to land a solo record deal, and announced plans to begin work on an album in summer 2011. Last September, “Sorry,” Rivera’s debut single featuring then-boyfriend Big Sean, was released; the song did not chart on the Hot 100 and has sold 34,000 downloads to date, according to Nielsen SoundScan.
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After getting engaged in last October, Rivera and Big Sean abruptly called off the weddinglast month. “Sean wishes Naya nothing but the best and it is still his hope that they can continue to work through their issues privately,” read a statement from Big Sean’s camp about the broken engagement.
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Meanwhile, rumors persist that Rivera has been fired from “Glee,” which is winding down its fifth season. Although a rep for the singer/actress called reports of her firing “absolutely untrue” to The Hollywood Reporter, other reports have claimed that a feud with co-star Lea Michele has led to Rivera’s permanent dismissal.
Since “Glee” began airing in mid-2009, its cast of rising young talent has struggled to get their respective solo projects off the ground. Lea Michele’s debut album “Louder” was at long last released in March, and has sold 87,000 copies to date, according to Nielsen SoundScan. Other “Glee” cast members, including Darren Criss and Amber Riley, are still prepping their proper debuts.
(Additional reporting from Shirley Halperin)