Pop star Alicia Keys is ending her involvement with BlackBerry as the companys global creative director.

Keys will depart the role on 30 January, exactly one year after her involvement was announced, alongside the unveiling of BB10. That suggests this may have been the plan all along, rather than a result of BlackBerry tightening its belt, but according to critics it was never more than a glorified celebrity endorsement anyway.

It was never exactly clear what the role entailed for Keys. At the outset, BlackBerry announced that Keys would “work closely with app developers, content creators, retailers, carriers and the entertainment community” and “lead the charge of enhancing entertainment consumption and distribution” on BB10, but there has been little evidence of that since.

Of course, BlackBerry itself hasnt had the smoothest ride in the last year, with CEO Thorsten Heins stepping down and the company abandoning plans for a sale in November.