Rina Sawayama has cancelled her 2022 European headline tour due to COVID concerns.

The Dirty Hit signee was due to perform sold-out shows in Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam and Berlin in March in support of her 2020 debut album, ‘SAWAYAMA’. She embarked on a delayed UK and Ireland tour last November.

Taking to social media this morning (January 7), Sawayama shared the “sad news” that she has now been forced to scrap her planned trip to Europe.

“Due to the ongoing restrictions from the recent COVID surge, I’m having to cancel all my European tour dates in March this year,” she wrote.

“I was so excited to come play for you all, so this is hugely disappointing. But I’ll be heading to the EU again soon with a bigger show and new music (EEEEE).”

Fans can get a refund for their tickets at the original point of purchase. You can see the full statement below.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Rina Sawayama (@rinasonline)

Sawayama is currently scheduled to embark on a North American tour in April – find the full list of dates here.

Many artists have recently postponed or cancelled their upcoming concerts due to the Omicron variant of COVID, including Henry Rollins, Wolf Alice, Clairo and The Streets. Earlier this week, the Grammy Awards 2022 ceremony was delayed indefinitely.

Sawayama spoke about her “Garbage, grunge and pop” inspired second album during an interview with NME last May.

“I’ve been busy – scribbling away,” she said. “I was panicking about what to write because, like a lot of people, I’ve just been at home – but I found something to write and since then I’ve just been going for it. I think I’ve got an album’s worth of material, but I’m just going to keep writing.”

The as-yet-unannounced ‘SAWAYAMA’ follow-up will boast a mix of styles, with the singer explaining that she’s “not locking herself into one genre”. You can watch the video interview above.