Justin Bieber abruptly cancels tour

The 23-year-old Canadian superstar -- who in recent years has been as known for off-stage antics as for his music -- had been due to resume his "Purpose" tour on Thursday with 15 shows across North America and Asia.

"Due to unforeseen circumstances, Justin Bieber will cancel the remainder of the 'Purpose World Tour' concerts," a statement from his management said.

"Justin loves his fans and hates to disappoint them," it said, adding that he made the decision after "careful consideration" and would refund tickets.

Bieber's team gave no further details. Bieber is a fixture of tabloids who has frequently faced legal trouble over incidents including racing a car through Miami and throwing eggs at a neighbor's house.

But his career had gone back on track with the spectacular success of his album "Purpose" in late 2015 that generated a stream of hits including "Sorry."

He appears on a remix of Puerto Rican singer Luis Fonsi's viral crossover song "Despacito," which has broken a record for streams across all formats and as of Monday has spent 11 weeks atop the Billboard singles chart.

Bieber had been due to play his latest round of shows in the United States and Canada before an Asia swing that would take him to Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, the Philippines and Singapore. 

China last week announced that Bieber was unwelcome in the mainland due to his "bad behavior," a likely reference to the star's surprise visit in 2014 in Tokyo to the Yasukuni shrine that honors war dead including convicted war criminals.

Bieber has already played more than 150 shows on the tour across the Americas and Europe as well as in Australia, India, Israel, New Zealand, South Africa and the United Arab Emirates.