Whitney Houston postpones Paris show due to illness

Whitney Houston acknowledges the audience's applause after performing ''I Didn't Know My Own Strength'' at the 2009 American Music Awards in Los Angeles, California November 22, 2009.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - U.S. pop diva Whitney Houston has postponed a concert in Paris on Tuesday night due to illness, delaying the European leg of a world tour that received a rocky reception in Asia and Australia.

Concert organizers said the 46-year-old singer had been excited about opening her European tour in Paris at the Omnisport Bercy and regretted having to postpone the show.

"Whitney is suffering from an upper respiratory infection and after a consultation with her doctors has been advised to postpone her performance," said a statement from the concert's organizers. "Whitney and her band apologize that the show has to be rescheduled on such short notice."

Her tour will resume as scheduled in Manchester, Britain, on April 8 and a new date for Paris will be announced shortly.

Houston, one of the top selling U.S. female vocalists of all time, launched a comeback last year after battling drug addiction and released "I Look To You," her first studio album in seven years that topped the U.S. and other international charts.

But her performance during her "Nothing but Love" world tour in Australia was panned by some critics and fans who walked out of her concerts, complaining she was off key, out of breath, and looked exhausted.

Her publicist Kristen Foster issued a statement denying Houston was having health problems and insisted she was in great health and having a "terrific time on her tour and with her fans."

Houston's tour began in South Korea in February with the singer performing in Japan then Australia. She is set to tour Britain, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Finland by June.

(Writing by Belinda Goldsmith, Editing by Miral Fahmy)