Brian McKnight [ tickets ], Grammy nominee for Best R&B Album, has announced plans for a two-month theater tour that will play in most major U.S. markets. McKnight's tour is scheduled to open on Feb. 3 in Cleveland, and will conclude with a March 25 stop in New York.

More than 30 shows are planned, and tickets are now on sale in many markets. Opening most shows through Feb. 13 will be McKnight's Motown labelmate Eric Benet [ tickets ]. Motown act 702 [ tickets ] will open most of the shows that follow.

A smooth R&B artist who has received heavy airplay on several radio formats, McKnight has drawn more than a few comparisons to Babyface, another singer who not only writes and produces his own albums, but also plays most of the instruments.

"Back At One," the title track of McKnight's new album, dropped to No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart this week after spending eight weeks entrenched in the No. 2 position. According to Motown Records, the ''Back At One'' album is nearing the double-platinum sales mark, which signifies two million copies sold. The album went platinum within a month of its September release.

In an unlikely scenario, Mark Wills [ tickets ]' country rendition of "Back At One" is currently at No. 15 on the Billboard Hot Country chart.

According to Motown, before hitting the road, McKnight will tape a performance for the ABC soap "All My Children" (air date to be determined), and will perform on Jan. 17 at the American Music Awards. He is also scheduled to perform a duet of "Back At One" with Wills for CBS's live Feb. 4 broadcast of the Miss USA pageant.