Selena Gomez cancels shows: 'I need to spend some time on myself'

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Selena Gomez in July 2013, just before the release of “Star Dance,” her first album since starring in the movie “Spring Breakers.” (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

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We’re serious about this one. Dating mega-famous tween heartthrob Justin Bieber in 2011 only amplified Gomez’s fame. Sure, she might have gained new fans, might have lost old ones -- heck, she was even threatened by some for kissing the Biebs, but the attention put her name all over the entertainment map. In this photo, the two are about to lock lips at a Lakers game. Before Bieber, Gomez dated “Twilight” star Taylor Lautner. And who can forget her first love, Jonas Brother Nick Jonas? (Noel Vasquez / Getty Images)

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By 2011, Selena swapped her lapel microphone for one with a cord when she began hosting MTV award shows. She started by lending her talents to MTV’s VMA pre-show, where she was polite and pleasant. Things changed when she filmed the promotion video to host MTV’s Europe Music Awards two months later. Gomez got a whole lot “grown up” with the use of slight profanity and a new gangster inspired look. (Here, Gomez attends the Fulfillment Fund’s Star Gala in Beverly Hills, a week before she hosted the EMAs.) (Jason Merritt / Getty Images)

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Hitting new heights, or perhaps trying to shed her squeaky-clean Disney image, Gomez starred in the just-in-time for spring 2012 movie “Spring Breakers,” directed by Harmony Korine, pictured center, of the famed “Kids,” “Gummo” and “Mister Lonely.” Gomez performed some pretty intense scenes, including one in which she said costar James Franco’s rapper-gangster character tried to influence her through emotional exploitation. “There were real moments in there,” Gomez said of that particular scene to The Times. “The way [Franco] was reacting really freaked me out.” (Liz O. Baylen / Los Angeles Times)

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Gomez returns to her hometown of Dallas to perform the halftime show at the Minnesota Vikings vs. Dallas Cowboys football game on Thanksgiving Day 2013. A Dallas Cowboys fan, Gomez tweeted, “Feels SO good to be home. Hi Dallas. I hope I make TX proud.” (Jamie Squire / Getty Images)

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Starring in another indie film, Gomez plays an angry girlfriend coping with the death of her beau in the dark film “Rudderless.” Gomez poses above with the film’s director, William H. Macy, left, and actor Billy Crudup, during the film’s promotional tour at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

By Nardine Saad

Dec. 20, 2013 11:08 AM PT

Selena Gomez is taking a bit of a hiatus from music. For real.

The “Stars Dance” singer has canceled her upcoming tour dates in Australia, her rep told The Times. The dates would have begun in February and included five stops Down Under.

“My fans are so important to me and I would never want to disappoint them,” the 21-year-old said in a statement. “But it has become clear to me and those close to me that after many years of putting my work first, I need to spend some time on myself in order to be the best person I can be.”

PHOTOS: Selena Gomez’s career highlights

It’s unclear how long the singer will be on hiatus, but Gomez is scheduled to perform in Japan, China, Malaysia and the Philippines through January 2014.

After that, her last scheduled performance was set for Hidalgo, Texas, on March 8, 2014.

“To my fans, I sincerely apologize and I hope you guys know how much each and every one of you mean to me.”

The statement addressed only the Australian dates, but it was being widely reported Friday that Gomez was canceling her Asia dates too. Gomez’s rep was not immediately available for comment.

Ticket-holders are being advised to collect their refunds at points of purchase.

However, there doesn’t seem to be cause to worry about the petite pop star.

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She’s reportedly just been working “nonstop” and “hit a wall,” a source told E! News.

“She doesn’t like to say no, but she just reached a point where she needs a minute,” a source told E! News. “She is not having a breakdown. She wants to be the healthiest that she can be and this means taking a little break. But she is fine. She is OK.”

“Selena is fine, she’s in a great space,” another source told People. “She’s looking forward to spending the holidays with her family.”

“She’s been on the road for six months and she’s just ready to be normal and at home with her family,” that source added. “She’s been working nonstop since she was 15 and wants to take a minute to herself.”

The “Come & Get It” singer launched her tour in August and played 55 concerts in the U.S. and Europe. This month, she’s done the rounds in the Jingle Ball holiday concert series.

PHOTOS: Musicians’ onstage snafus

However, her Dec. 6 show in Los Angeles was riddled with sound problems and resulted in the Disney Channel alum dropping the F-bomb onstage and abruptly ending her set.

In an earlier interview for the December 2013 issue of Teen Vogue, Gomez said that she wasn’t ready to quit music.

“This tour was almost like my goodbye tour initially, I wanted to quit music,” she said. “And once I got onstage and I put it all together and it did become what it became, I just thought there’s no way that I’m close to ... saying this is it.”

Seems as though she’s singing a different tune.

The news also comes on the heels of her ex-beau Justin Bieber announcing that he’d be retiring from music as well -- a statement that turned out to be a hoax. The Biebs did say that he still loved Gomez and that his single, “All That Matters,” was written when he was in a “great place in my relationship and at that time she was all that mattered.”

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