Mariah Carey might usually be in her element at this time of year as Christmas swiftly approaches, but the excitement seems to have taken its toll on her as she is forced to cancel her tour dates for the next couple of weeks due to an extended illness.

Mariah Carey at the Chinese Theater's Hand and Footprint CeremonyMariah Carey at the Chinese Theater's Hand and Footprint Ceremony

The 47-year-old has had to postpone her All I Want For Christmas tour until November 27th after falling victim to a nasty respiratory infection. Now she will begin her show series with a 6-date run at the Beacon Theatre in New York City.

'Lambs! Just in time for the holiday gift-giving season, it seems I've received a present of my own; a lovely upper respiratory infection after last week's flu. Bleak!' She wrote on Twitter.

'You know there is nothing I love more than celebrating the holidays with my festive Christmas show, but I have to take my Doctor's orders and rest until he says I can sing on stage', she continued. 'Until then, unfortunately, I have to cancel the first several shows of my upcoming Christmas tour. I'm going to do all that I can so that I can see you soon.'

She was originally meant to be kicking off her tour in Windsor, Ontario tomorrow night (November 17th) at The Colosseum at Caesars Windsor, and while she's had to cancel her first few dates, she has also had to miss the LA premiere of the animated nativity movie 'The Star' in which she voices the character of Rebecca the Hen.

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When she is eventually back on stage, she'll be performing at the AccorHotels Arena in Paris, the Manchester Arena and London's O2 Arena, finishing with a five-night residency at the Colosseum in Las Vegas. In February 2018, she'll jet off to Australia and New Zealand for five more dates in Auckland, Brisbane, Perth, Sydney and Melbourne.