Justin Bieber, Shawn Mendes and the music stars forced to cancel tours over health issues

These performers have put a stop on their ongoing tours this year to take care of themselves

Justin Bieber, left, and Shawn Mendes have both cancelled their world tours. Photo: AFP, Reuters

Justin Bieber is exhausted. The pop star, who's currently on his global Justice World Tour ― which includes two shows in Dubai next month — made a surprise announcement on Tuesday, saying he's taking a break.

Bieber, who was one of the headliners at the Rock in Rio music festival in Brazil on Sunday, posted a message on his Instagram Stories saying "the exhaustion overtook me and I realised that I need to make my health the priority right now."

The singer, 28, has been battling Ramsay Hunt Syndrome, which left half of his face paralysed. He shared news of his diagnosis in early June and his intention to postpone US dates for his Justice tour.

“Earlier this year, I went public about my battle with Ramsay Hunt Syndrome, where my face was partly paralysed,” he says in his post. “As the result of this illness, I was not able to complete the North America leg of the Justice Tour.

"After resting and consulting with my doctors, family and team, I went to Europe in an effort to continue the tour. I performed six live shows, but it really took a real toll on me," he continues. "So I'm going to take a break from touring for the time being. I'm going to be ok, but I need time to rest and get better."

Justin Bieber tells fans he needs to take a break from performing to rest. Photo: Instagram / justinbieber

Bieber has two shows scheduled for Dubai on October 8 and 9 at the Coca-Cola Arena. In the region, he was also set to perform in Sakhir, Bahrain on October 5 as well as in Tel Aviv, Israel on October 13.

The Justice World Tour has been rescheduled several times, owing to the Covid-19 pandemic and following the singer's health diagnosis.

Dubai promoters on Wednesday said they were still awaiting updates from Bieber's camp on whether or not the show would still go ahead.

Shawn Mendes hits 'breaking point'

Shawn Mendes performs at the iHeartRadio’s KIIS FM Wango Tango in Los Angeles on June 4, 2022. AFP

Bieber's tour cancellation comes less than two months after fellow Canadian pop star Mendes postponed his world tour for three weeks to heal and take care of his mental health.

Mendes, whose two-year-long, 87-show Wonder: The World Tour began in March, made the sudden announcement in early July saying he's "hit a breaking point".

"I’ve been touring since I was 15 and to be honest it’s always been difficult to be on the road away from friends and family. After a few years off the road, I felt like I was ready to dive back in, but that decision was premature and unfortunately, the toll of the road and the pressure has caught up to me," he said.

"After speaking with my team and health professionals, I need to take some time to heal and take care of myself and my mental health, first and foremost. As soon as there are more updates I promise I will let you know.”

While fans hoped that the rest of Mendes's tour would pick up following the three-week break, the singer made an announcement at the end of July saying he was "not at all ready" to get back on the road.

"I started this tour excited to finally get back to playing live after a long break due to the pandemic, but the reality is I was not at all ready for how difficult touring would be after this time away," he said. "It has become more clear that I need to take the time I've never taken personally, to ground myself and come back stronger."

Mendes, 23, who first earned fame by posting covers of songs on Vine, released his first album Handwritten in 2015 and went straight to No 1 on the US Billboard 200. He has since released three chart-topping albums: Illuminate (2016), Shawn Mendes (2018) and Wonder (2020).

In My Blood, his lead single from his self-titled album chronicled his struggles with anxiety.

Russ cancels European tour after one show

Rapper Russ at his show in Jeddah on August 20. Reuters

Last month, American rapper Russ, who'd just performed in Jeddah, was on his way to Stuttgart in Germany to kick off the European leg of his The Journey is Everything world tour, when he decided to call a time out.

"I have to cancel the European tour. I could make up excuses so that I don’t lose money," he posted on Instagram, saying that mentally, he felt terrible.

"In the last 24 hours [...] happened that has led to some extremely lonely and empty realisations about things in my family life that have my head feeling like it’s gonna burst. I feel terrible about doing this to my European fans. If you no longer support me after this, I get it. If you don’t believe my reason, I get it. I’ve never had to do this and I feel very defeated but I can’t crash and burn and give y’all [...] performances on the way out."

Russ, who has 14 albums to his name, released his single Are You Entertained in July featuring singer Ed Sheeran.

He is set to resume his tour next month, which includes a date in Cairo on October 21.

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