Lizzo, Jennifer Hudson, Stevie Wonder, Lady Gaga, and many more artists delivered powerful virtual performances during Saturday’s “One World: Together at Home” benefit concert.
Lizzo belted out a cover of Sam Cooke’s “A Change Is Gonna Come.” At the end her performance she shared a personal message. “Thank you to everyone working hard to keep us safe. Thank you to everyone staying home and keeping themselves safe,” she said. “I love you. We got this. We’ll get through this together.”
Gaga curated the massive event from producers Global Citizen to raise money for COVID-19 relief.
Related Story: Spike Lee Pleads With African Americans to Take Coronavirus Seriously
The concert began streaming online at 2 p.m. ET. R&B singer Andra Day kicked things off during the pre-show with a moving performance of “Rise Up.”
Common said the global crisis is “bringing everyone together,” as he performed “The Light.”
Jennifer Hudson closed the livestream portion of the concert with an emotional rendition of “Hallelujah.”
https://twitter.com/PopPulseSA/status/1251663046797406209
Money raised will support frontline health care workers and the World Health Organization. The televised portion of the concert got underway at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT, and ran on multiple networks and cable channels.
Lady Gaga opened the two-hour broadcast with a heartfelt performance of the Charlie Chaplin classic “Smile.”
At the end of the event, Global Citizen released a statement saying its efforts with Lady Gaga have raised $127 million to date in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.
Beyoncé did not perform at Saturday’s concert, but in a surprise appearance she offered a message of hope and reminded African Americans about the devastating impact of the coronavirus outbreak.
“This virus is killing black people at an alarmingly high rate in America,” she said. “Please protect yourselves. We are one family and we need you. We need your voices, your abilities and your strength all over this world. I know it’s very hard, but please be patient, stay encouraged, keep the faith, stay positive and continue to pray for our heroes.”
Related Story: OWN Sets Coronavirus Special With Carlos Watson, Robin Roberts, New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell
Stevie Wonder turned in a soul-stirring tribute to his late friend Bill Withers, by singing Withers’ 1972 classic “Lean on Me.”
The Grammy-winning singer and songwriter opened by saying, “During hardships like this, we have to lean on each other. My friend, the late Bill Withers, has the perfect song about that and I want us to remember him tonight.”
Wonder later performed his own hit “Love’s In Need Of Love Today” from his 1976 album Songs in the Key of Life.
The performance was one of his first public appearances in months after he revealed last summer that he was having serious health problems. In July, he announced during a concert that he would undergo a kidney transplant in September 2019.
Wonder joined a long list of music artists who participated throughout the day in the concert. Other performers included John Legend and Sam Smith, Burna Boy, and Jennifer Lopez.
Former first ladies Michelle Obama and Laura Bush also came together to say, “The spirit and courage of the American people is most evident in times of crisis, during this difficult period of physical separation, we’ve never been closer. Not just in our great country, but tonight we stand with the people of the world.”
