“Exhausted” Amy axes her North American tour

British jazz-R&B singer Amy Winehouse has postponed her North American tour due to her health troubles. The 23-year-old singer’s publicist confirmed on Tuesday that Winehouse has scrapped the September tour she had planned for the U.S. and Canada.

The ‘Rehab’ singer, who reportedly is resting under doctor's orders and suffering from severe exhaustion, has admitted having drug addiction and has been staying in a rehab centre in Essex with husband Blake Fielder-Civil.

She has postponed her autumn tour of the US and Canada on the advice of doctors. “Due to the rigors involved in touring, Amy Winehouse has been advised to postpone her upcoming September U.S. and Canadian tour dates,” publicist Tracey Miller said.

“Plans are being made to reschedule her U.S. tour for early 2008. Until then, Amy has been ordered to rest and is working with medical professionals to address her health.”

Winehouse was scheduled to begin the tour on 8 September in Toronto. She was due to perform at the VMAs in Las Vegas, on Sept. 9, and start her string of concerts with a gig in New York on Sept. 12. All ticket holders for the September dates may obtain refunds at point of purchase.

The European and U.K. tour dates in October and November would remain in place, Miller said. Amy will begin her European tour on 22 October in Amsterdam.

Amy, 23, recently has called off her UK summer gigs to concentrate on her health. Soon after that she along with Blake, her husband of four months, entered the Causeway house rehab centre on the Essex coast.

The announcement of Winehouse’s American tour cancellation comes days after another British pop singer Lily Allen cancelled her US tour. The British pop sensation has cancelled her eagerly awaited tour for the second time.

The 22-year-old singer, best known for songs such as "Smile" and "LDN", first cancelled the US tour because of her poor live performances, which according to her were not up to the mark, citing drink as the main factor. And the second time, a visa controversy that the singer has faced earlier this month in Los Angeles forced Allen to cancel her tour.

Besides the cancellation of American tour, the English pop star Allen has been forced to cancel her appearance at the MTV Music Awards. She was due to perform at the MTV VMAs in Las Vegas on September 9 with Kanye West and Common.

Born on 14 September 1983 in London, England, Amy has been one of the U.K.'s flagship vocalists during the 2000s. She has been nominated for three awards - best female artist, video of the year and best newcomer. She also won a BRIT Award for Best British Female Artist. This year, in US, selling over 1m copies of her second album 'Back to Black'.

She has always been an interesting fodder for British tabloids for her alleged alcohol-induced behaviour. She reportedly collapsed a couple of weeks ago after ingesting a cocktail of alcohol, cocaine, Ketamine and ecstasy, and was rushed to hospital by her husband Blake.