LOS ANGELES (REUTERS, AFP) - Canadian pop singer Justin Bieber has been diagnosed with a virus that has left half his face paralysed and forced him to cancel some upcoming performances to focus on his recovery.

In a video posted on Instagram, Bieber said he had contracted Ramsay Hunt syndrome, which affected nerves in his ear and face.

He noted that his right eye was not blinking.

"I can't smile on this side of my face. This nostril will not move. So there's full paralysis on this side of my face," he said.

Bieber said he was physically unable to perform his upcoming shows but was doing facial exercises and expected to recover.

Ramsay Hunt Syndrome is a complication of shingles that occurs when an outbreak impacts the facial nerve near one ear.

In addition to facial paralysis, it can cause hearing loss.

"It will go back to normal," Bieber said. "It's just time, and we don't know how much time that's going to be."

The 28-year-old pop singer recently announced he was pausing his Justice World Tour due to illness, hours before his first slated concert in Toronto.

Bieber found fame as a 13-year-old and went on to become a global pop phenomenon with songs like Baby and Believe.

He has two Grammy wins among 22 nominations, including a record and song of the year nods this year for Peaches.