By: Sandipan Dalal
September 8, 2006
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Sonu Niigaam
While taking a walk down a Vancouver thoroughfare recently, Sonu Niigaam was surprised to see locals sporting T-shirts from merchandise given out to fans during a concert.
The local promoters of the Simply Sonu 2006 concert had given out some stuff before the concert day for a change. The reason being growing attempts to counter the badmouthing of the show scheduled on September 3.
Very satisfying
Says Niigaam, "The good part about the T-shirt is that it doesn't scream that it's a Sonu souvenir. People find it cool to wear it because the fabric is good. Since there were so many attempts to sabotage the show in Vancouver, we distributed the tees freely among the Canadians. Showbiz here has become like the political scenario back at home. The local Indians turned out in large numbers to purchase tickets after they laid their hands on the tees."
As his tour nears a close with Toronto being the final venue, Niigaam says, "My last show is on September 10. As an artist I'm extremely satisfied. In spite of my ill health, whenever I see a smile on the face of an individual sitting in the audience, I feel my efforts have paid off."
The Simply Sonu 2006 concert T-shirt
Straight talking
Apart from performing at various centers, the singer has been coordinating with a few web designers as he will launch his official website (www.sonunigam.in) shortly.
He believes that his website will facilitate direct communication with his audience across the globe, and serve as a popular platform to promote his albums.
Those in the know reveal that the singer also plans to launch a collection of merchandise on the website.
The singer refuses to divulge any details about the look and feel of the website. "I can't divulge any details as I'm a little superstitious. It should start functioning by the end of this month. And yes, I intend to check the fan mails personally and even write back," he says.