John Mayer cancels tour over vocal problems

(CBS News) John Mayer's return to the stage has been sidelined indefinitely.

The singer announced Friday that his plans to tour this year have now been put on hold, because of ongoing issues with his throat.

"During rehearsal on Tuesday, it came to mind that I should see my throat doctor because something didn't feel/sound right. I went in for a visit on Wednesday and a scope of my vocal cords revealed that the granuloma has grown back where it had mostly healed. This is bad news," he wrote on his blog. "Because of this, I have no choice but to take an indefinite break from live performing. Though there will be a day when all of this will be behind me, it will sideline me for a longer period of time than I care to have you count down."

He continued, "I want to explain this a bit more in depth than I have in the past, because I know there's some confusion as to what this condition is; a granuloma forms and continues to snowball because it's in a spot where the vocal cords hit together and there's no way to really give it a chance to heal without a good stretch of time and some pretty intensive treatment. In short, it's one giant pain in the ass."

Mayer, 34, had surgery in October to remove a granuloma near his vocal cords, and was on complete vocal rest for a month while he recuperated.

The singer's new album, "Born and Raised," is set to be released May 22. Mayer told fans the album will still be released as scheduled, and he plans to start working on his next album "very soon." He also will have to have surgery once again.

"I feel really vibrant as a writer at the moment and there's no reason not to begin the next album project in the time I would have been touring," Mayer wrote. "Somewhere in all of this is another surgery and a very long chemically-imposed period of silence, so I hope you'll understand that I have to really pick that date carefully."

"I'm pretty emotionally burnt out at the moment, but please know how hard I tried to resolve this and how disappointed I am that I can't perform this record yet," he added. "I'm completely bummed, especially for all of you who started making plans to see a show. Nothing feels worse than having to break the stage down before the performance, and I mean nothing...the only thing that stops me from devolving into a puddle of tears is knowing that it's a long life, and the greatest gift in the world is being able to create music no matter what the circumstances. So these are the new circumstances, and I'll find a way to make it mean something. That's all you can ever do."