Stan Walker says when the Christchurch terrorist attack happened, he was as shocked as the rest of New Zealand.
And he felt a responsibility, as an artist, to bring people hope through his music.
Speaking this morning to TVNZ1's Breakfast programme, Walker said he hasn't done promotional appearances for his music for a long time, but with the release of his latest single Give and the announcement of a New Zealand tour, it was time to get back our there.
"It's good to be back out on the road and back in the scene," he said.
Walker, 28, has in recent years fought a battle against stomach cancer, and says it was actually a good thing for him.
"It was the best thing that ever happened to me - I mean, I got skinny - I don't ever have to go on a diet again!" he laughed.
"At the time, it was hard, but it just made me more determined to want to break through in every area of my life."
His new song Give came about after the March 15 attack, which he says "put a lot of things in perspective".
"Our heart behind this song was to bring healing and to bring hope to people," he said.
"We have a responsibility, we have a duty as artists, I think - people who bring healing through music - to say something that's going to bring hope.
"You can't put out fire with fire, so that's why we come in...There's the Bob Marleys who brought peace to his nation when it was at civil war and that's what I want to do with this."
His new music is available on streaming services and tour tickets are available through Ticketmaster.
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