The 40-year-old Colombian sensation took to Twitter today to apologise to her fans, saying she has a "heavy heart" but must stop singing to recover.
"All the years I've been signing, I've never been faced with a situation like this," she wrote in statements in both English and Spanish. She says she can't wait to be back onstage and "hear your voices singing along with mine."
Shakira this year released her 11th album, "El Dorado," and her European tour this winter was due to hit Paris, Amsterdam, Madrid, Lisbon, Barcelona, Munich, Milan and Zurich, among other cities.