(Cover) - EN Showbiz - Ne-Yo says he had no plans to cancel his tour of Japan following the natural disaster two weeks ago.
The 31-year-old singer had scheduled four concerts in the country prior to the 8.9 tremor that struck off the north east of the country, which triggered a devastating tsunami, on March 11. Despite other artists cancelling their appointments, Ne-Yo reveals he was determined to see through his obligation, if only to give his fans something to smile about. The star was impressed by the character shown by the Japanese, who still welcomed him despite their obvious trauma.
The main thing that we been seeing out here is people coming together, people making donations, helping out their fellow man. As far as the crowds coming to the shows, it's unreal. If you didn't know that anything was wrong, you would never know that anything was wrong. It's just people coming to enjoy a concert, which to me kind of speaks to the spirit of the Japanese people. They're about keeping it going and keeping their spirits high and their morale high, and I dig that," he told MTV.
The R&B crooner was so taken aback by the disaster, he managed to raise a lump sum to donate towards victims of the tragedy. He admits he wanted to make a difference away from his music, and felt this was the best way.
We've raised somewhere close to $100,000 just in merchandise. All of the proceeds of this stuff goes straight to the victims of the quake and tsunami. Not to mention, a percentage of the proceeds of the shows themselves goes to the victims of the quake and tsunami. We're definitely out here making a difference, more than just singing and dancing," he added. (C) Cover Media