Ke$ha Nixes Japan Tour; Lauper, Ne-Yo Soldier On

Pop stars face the difficult decision whether to bring their shows to Land of the Rising Sun in the midst of its worst crisis since WWII

By Josh Grossberg Mar 22, 2011 2:46 PMTags
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With Japan still reeling from a devastating earthquake, tsunami and ongoing nuclear crisis, Ke$ha is taking her Sleazy act elsewhere.

The "Tick Tock" singer has postponed an upcoming tour of the country as it recovers from the catastrophe, announcing on her website that her intentionally shocking stage routine would have been off-putting given what the Japanese are currently dealing with.

Yeah, we guess a stunt like drinking blood is probably not a good idea.

"My heart is with Japan right now through this disaster and these hardships," said Ke$ha. "I genuinely don't think right now would be appropriate timing for me to perform in Japan given the content and the spirit of my show, which is all about feeling exuberant, rowdy and wild."

The singer also said she hoped to return at a future date but "in the meantime I am going to do everything I can to help relief efforts and I encourage everyone in the world to do the same."

For now, Ke$sha plans to keep the party going Stateside, where she'll kick off another run of concerts April 1 in Clarion, Penn., that will wrap up in Las Vegas May 7.

Not every performer is bailing on the Land of the Rising Sun, however.

Cyndi Lauper and her band have decided to push ahead with their trek, which they've turned into charity gigs to help raise spirits as well as money to aid relief efforts.

In a series of tweets, the "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" crooner praised the Japanese for their calm amid the chaos.

"The shows have been enlightening. The strength and dignity of the people here have been inspiring. I hope we helped them feel better," she wrote over the weekend before embarking for a show in Osaka.

When the quake struck, Lauper was in Japan touring on behalf of her new album, Memphis Blues, and has been urging fans to donate to relief organizations ever since.

Ne-Yo is also doing his part.

The R&B star gave a charity concert in Nagoya Friday that he aptly dubbed "Spreading Love Through Music," and collected donations at the door for victims of the disaster.

He'll continue the good works at shows scheduled for Yokohama and Tokyo this week.

"The power of music breaks down barriers," he said on a video posted on his site. "You can...spread love through music, and I think that's what's absolutely called for in this time of crisis."

Unfortunately, not everybody will get a chance to hear some tunes. Per Billboard, Japanese promoter Creativeman Productions has been forced to scrap its annual R&B festival, Springgroove—set for early April outside of Tokyo and Osaka—that would have featured Nelly and Flo Rida. It also announced the cancellation of Punkspring, a gathering of hard-core punk outfits including Good Charlotte and Hoobastank in April.

Meanwhile, a slew of Universal Music stars, led by U2 and Rihanna, have agreed to offer up various tunes royalty-free for a digital-only benefit album that the label is rushing out to raise funds for Japan relief. The record should be out by week's end and proceeds will go to the Japanese Red Cross.

And lastly rapper Snoop Dogg has teamed up with Neff Headwear to design a Japan relief t-shirt dubbed Snoop Dogg x Neff Japan Tee. All proceeds from sales will be donated to Operation USA, an international aid agency helping communities overcome the effects of disaster.

"I got so much love for Japan that when I heard about the recent disaster I knew I had to do what I could to help. My Japanese family member, DJ 2High, called me and let me know how bad it really is, they need a lot of support and I hope that this Tee that I am doing with my NEFF family will help make a difference," said the MC. "I said it before and I will say it again, Keep your head up Japan."