Low ticket sales cause Clarkson to shelve tour

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Pop singer and "American Idol" winner

Kelly Clarkson may want to consider singing the blues with all the turmoil in her life lately.

After feuding with her label for months over artistic control of her upcoming album, "My December," and abruptly firing her long-time manager this week, the singer pulled the plug on a summer concert tour on Thursday due to poor ticket sales.

"In the craziness of the music business, performing is what I look forward to doing the most, so it really is disappointing for me to have to tell you that I won't be coming out to tour this summer," Clarkson said on her Web site (www.kellyclarkson.com).

"The fact is that touring is just too much, too soon," said Clarkson, 25, who has sold an estimated 11 million records worldwide.

Clarkson promised fans she'd "get back out there as soon as is humanly possible."

Michael Rapino, chief executive officer of concert promotion company LiveNation, said, "Ticket sales have not been what we anticipated and we came to the realization that we had bit off more than we could chew."

The singer has been embroiled in a high-profile dispute with Sony BMG boss Clive Davis, credited with cultivating stars like

Whitney Houston, over her new album, "My December." Clarkson recently told "Elle" magazine that she rejected Davis' offer of $10 million to remove five songs from the album.

"My December," originally due out in April was delayed due to the falling out. It is set to be released on June 26.

The new album's first single, "Never Again," her seventh top-10 hit, fell six places to No. 17 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart Thursday.

Clarkson's debut album, "Thankful" (2003) sold 2.6 million units in the United States, while her follow-up "Breakaway" (2004) sold about 5.8 million units, according to Nielsen Soundscan.