British singer Sam Smith needs 'surgery' on vocal cords

British singer Sam Smith has told his fans he needs "surgery" on his vocal cords one week after pulling out of his Australian tour.

The star, 22, pulled out of the rest of his Australian tour last week, after doctors discovered a haemorrhage on them and he flew to the United States to see a specialist.

"I am very upset to announce I have been battling to get my vocal cords better the last 10 days but unfortunately they haven't recovered and I'm going to need surgery," he wrote on Twitter.

Smith said he was "gutted" to be missing planned shows but that doctors had told him he would be back performing in six to eight weeks.

The singer has had a meteoric rise in recent years.

Sales figures released this week show he had the best-selling album, single and most streamed track by a British artist in the US in 2014 when Stay With Me was played more than 147 million times.