As the coronavirus pandemic continues to keep many indoors—or at the very least, a healthy distance from friends and family—Jason Derulo is doing his best to bring people together, whether it's with his hilarious TikToks or new music.
Recently, Derulo extended his efforts to patients and caregivers in healthcare facilities with the help of Healing Through Music, an initiative spearheaded by Musicians On Call and Hyundai Hope On Wheels. Like other artists such as Sia and Darius Rucker have done, Derulo surprised a hospital's staff and patients with a virtual performance.
The musician described the experience to E!'s Erin Lim on Daily Pop, while also stressing the importance of unity.
"In these times, whenever we can just try to come together, I think, is a beautiful thing," Derulo explained. "It was just a fun thing that I was hoping that would brighten some people's days. And I had a really good time doing it, honestly. What they've been able to build is really special and I hope they continue to do it."
Derulo continued, "You know, now more than ever, we need each other...I mean, we're all going through the same exact thing and I think that in and of itself brings us closer together; that we're all going through these trying times together, not being able to leave our houses but at the same time getting to spend a little more time with the people that we care about."
He encouraged anyone listening to start taking advantage of this time if they haven't done so already, "whether it's learning how to sing or learning how to cook."
"You know, just utilize the time to come out stronger than you came into it," Derulo added.
He's certainly found ways to avoid becoming bored. Just last month, Derulo dropped a new song called "Savage Love." In the song, Derulo described himself as singing about a woman who's "very set in her ways but I'm in love with who she is."
"This song was a really fun beginning because it came from a TikTok phenomenon," he told Lim. "And you know, I love me some TikTok. But yeah, it came from a celebration of cultures—which I think hits home right now."
With 22 million followers, Derulo could certainly be considered a TikTok phenomenon himself. When he hit the 22,000,000 mark earlier this week, he made a celebratory video in which he attempted to eat 22 hamburgers.
"I actually, I didn't get to 22; I ate 20. And it was crazy," the singer recounted. "I mean, you would think it would be a dream to do it—to eat that amount—but man, that was a nightmare.
Derulo said he was nauseous every five minutes, and eventually, "every bite was pain."
"But I did it for the people!" he said. "I had to do it for the celebration."
In the few days since the stunt, Derulo revealed that he's already noticed weight gain.
"It's not just from eating the burgers!" he added. "Your appetite—your stomach—grows. So I've just been hungry since then. Like, I wake up every day and I'm like, 'Damn, I'm hungry!'"
Watch the complete Daily Pop interview in the above clip.