A throat condition has forced Michelle Branch to cancel nearly half of her upcoming live performances.

Nine of the 19 shows Branch has scheduled from November 17 in Vancouver to December 16 in New Orleans have been nixed, according to a Maverick Records spokesperson, in order to give the singer's voice a rest, in accordance with doctor's orders.

Most of the scrapped shows are part of her headlining tour, which began early last month, and occur early in her itinerary. Four radio-sponsored holiday shows -- December 2 in Kansas City, Missouri; December 7 in Tacoma, Washington; December 11 in New York; and December 14 in Sunrise, Florida -- remain unaffected, as will her three scheduled TV appearances: the halftime show at the Major League Soccer Cup on Sunday, and "Late Night With Conan O'Brien" and "The Today Show" in mid-December.

In other Branch news, her eight-song CD single, Breathe: The Remixes, hits brick-and-mortar record stores next week, after being available at online music outlets since November 11. The record features the radio-single and album versions of second single "Breathe," from her latest album, Hotel Paper, alongside remixes from the Passengerz, Chris Cox, Dave Hernandez and Sean Konnery.

Branch's laptop and other items that were stolen from her hotel room during the 2003 Radio Music Awards last month, meanwhile, remain unreturned (see [article id="1479990"]"Nelly, Michelle Branch's Hotel Rooms Burglarized During Awards Show"[/article]).

Michelle Branch canceled tour dates, according to Maverick Records:

• 11/17 - Vancouver, BC @ Vogue Theatre