Barry Manilow hospitalised with bronchial infection

Veteran musician Barry Manilow has been hospitalised with a bronchial infection.

Manilow, who was scheduled to start his residency at the Westgate Las Vegas on Thursday with a series of sold-out shows, had to cancel his opening weekend of performances.

"I can't believe this is happening. Our new show is ready, we're all ready, and we were all looking forward to tonight," the 74-year-old singer said in a statement shared on Twitter.

The "Copacabana" crooner is expected to recover quickly and be released from the hospital in a few days.

"Manilow is under the care of the best doctors and being closely monitored and supervised," the statement further read.

According to the organisers, ticket holders will be issued full refunds for the show or ticket exchanges for future performances, and are all invited to a free Soundtrack show over the weekend.

"The entire Westgate family wishes Barry a speedy recovery and we know that he will dazzle audiences when his show resumes on June 21st," Westgate Resorts' CEO David Siegel said in the statement.