Following his release from Lava/Universal Republic, Brooks focused on being an independent artist again and immediately began work on a new EP. Using the site Pledgemusic, Brooks started a pledge campaign and succeeded in funding his next album through fan donations. The funds were used to record his EP A Reason To Swim, that was released on 6 September 2011 in the US. A music video for the song “Holes Inside” was also produced and released a day after the album.
Brooks attracted enough international fans from Asia and was able to sign with Sony in Korea and Malaysia who licensed his A Reason to Swim for release there. To coincide with a media tour of Asia, Brooks ran a charity marathon to raise funds for a mission trip to China. In July 2011, Brooks travelled to China for two weeks to be a part of the Bring Me Hope Foundation, which focuses on the needs of orphans in China. Afterward, he attended a media tour in Korea to support A Reason To Swim, appearing on national television and Korean publications of Nylon and Teen Vogue. The album did well in Korea and the song “Holes Inside” reached the top 5 on the Korean pop charts.
Brooks has been involved with different charity works and attributes his desire to help to his Christian faith. This charity work includes the Invisible Children Organization, going to Africa with his father when he was 19 for Habitat For Humanity and then to China in 2011 with the Bring Me Hope Foundation.
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