Is Janet’s Tour The Illness?

Janet Jackson continues to postpone shows on her Rock Witchu tour, which was supposed to be the 42-year-old singer’s triumphant comeback.

Things started to go south for Jackson’s trek – a two-and-a-half hour, hits filled production that covers her nearly three decades in the business – when she reportedly became ill and was hospitalized Sept. 29, just prior to a show in Montreal.

Since then the singer has pulled the plug on eight other shows, including Boston; Philadelphia; Atlanta; Greensboro, N.C.; Sunrise, Fla.; Uncasville, Conn; Verona, N.Y.; and New York City, all of which are expected to be rescheduled.

An October 15 show at Verizon Center in Washington, D.C., is still scheduled to go on as planned, according to the venue’s Web site.

While no specific explanation of Jackson’s illness has been released, Live Nation, promoter for the tour, has said that she has been under a doctor’s care and is expected to continue the trek.

The singer’s brother Randy explained last week that vertigo is the cause of the trouble, but several media outlets including ABC News have begun to suggest that ticket sales are the problem.

A former spokesman for the Jackson family told ABC that poor sales have prompted Live Nation to pull shows and went on to speculate about the ability of the singer to compete with younger artists like Ashanti and Beyoncé.

A Live Nation spokesman was not available for comment at press time.