Little Mix have cancelled their upcoming tour dates in Australia and New Zealand to ensure they have time to record their sixth album.
The pop group – Jesy Nelson, Leigh-Anne Pinnock, Jade Thirlwall and Perrie Edwards – announced the news in a post on their shared Twitter page.
They said: “We are really sad to announce we have to cancel our upcoming Australia and New Zealand tour dates.
— Little Mix (@LittleMix) October 23, 2019
“We are so sorry for disappointing our fans who were coming to the shows.
“This is not a decision we have taken lightly but we have to use this time to focus on recording new music.
“Please contact your point of purchase for a full refund on tickets.”
The tour dates were originally planned for June but were postponed to December due to the band’s promotional duties.
The decision will allow them to record a follow-up to their number three album LM5, which was released in November 2018 and featured the single Woman Like Me featuring US rapper Nicki Minaj.
The former X Factor stars recently announced that they would appear in their own BBC show.
They are hoping to find talented singers to become members of all-female, all-male or mixed bands in BBC One show Little Mix The Search, which will air next year.
Nelson recently featured in a candid documentary in which she spoke about how she has struggled with being bullied since rising to fame eight years ago.
The show, Jesy Nelson: Odd One Out, became BBC Three’s most-watched factual title since it moved online in 2016, according to seven-day data.