Janet Jackson postpones tour on doctor’s orders: ‘My husband and I are planning our family’

Janet Jackson has postponed her "Unbreakable" world tour on the advice of her doctors — and it sounds like a child may be on the way.

"We're in the second leg of the tour and there actually has been a sudden change," the smiling singer said in a video posted Wednesday on Twitter, addressing her fans. "... My husband and I are planning our family, so I'm going to have to delay the tour. Please, if you can try and understand that it's important that I do this now. I have to rest up, doctor's orders, but I have not forgotten about you. I will continue to tour as soon as I possibly can."

She was effusive in thanks to her dancers, band and crew, and her fans: "Once again, thanks to all the fans for your love, your undying love. Your loyalty, that means so much to me. You're truly appreciated."

In late December, she'd postponed tour dates until spring, citing unspecified surgery. In January, she denied rumors that she had throat cancer. The latest announcement comes after speculation last month that the tour's European leg was being canceled entirely.

Gary Bongiovanni of Pollstar, which tracks ticket sales, had no information on sales for Jackson's European shows but acknowledged that low sales can be a factor in a postponement. However, he said, an artist would "rarely acknowledge that."

"Usually, before you go to the effort and expense of setting up a tour, you figure that stuff [like family planning] out in advance," Bongiovanni said.

Jackson had been doing in the neighborhood of 7,000 to 9,000 tickets per show in the United States, he said. "That's not Staples Center-size audiences."

It was unclear whether Jackson, 49, was saying she was pregnant or perhaps undergoing fertility treatments, and her rep had no additional information Wednesday.

The "Rhythm Nation" singer and Qatari businessman Wissam Al Mana, 41, were married under the radar in 2012, with their nuptials going unnoticed until 2013, when she spoke up to deny that they'd had an extravagant ceremony.

There was speculation around that time in United Arab Emirates media that she would be converting to Islam, and indeed she closed her video with the phrase "Insha'Allah," or "God willing." Last October, the New York Post noted that she was uncharacteristically covered up for her performances. The couple, who met in 2010, make their home in Doha, Qatar, the paper said.

"Unbreakable," which dropped in October, is Jackson's first album since "Discipline" in 2008.

Follow Christie D'Zurilla on Twitter @theCDZ. Follow the Ministry of Gossip @LATcelebs.

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