Queen Latifah, Wyclef, Bill Clinton, Chris Brown and More Make a Rousing Rally for Haiti
Friday, February 5, 2010 - Labels: Chris Brown, Wyclef - 0 Comments
There's something to be said for the bright side.
Queen Latifah, Pharrell Williams and Sean "Diddy" Combs—plus dozens of their famous friends—presided over SOS Saving Ourselves: Help for Haiti, which aired tonight on BET, MTV and VH1, the latest massive celebrity effort to aid the earthquake-ravaged nation.
With everyone from Spike Lee to Justin Bieber to Mike Tyson answering phones and Bill Clinton and Busta Rhymes taking the stage, the mood at TK in Miami was serious but decidedly upbeat, with individual stories of perserverance and courage providing a much needed ray of light amid the grief and devastating images that continue to roll out of Haiti.
Not that George Clooney and Wyclef Jean's Hope for Haiti Now benefit wasn't beyond inspiring and the music beautiful.
But the performances tonight, many of which were artists doing their own hits, made you want to smile more than cry. And the people of Haiti could probably use a few more of those.
Keri Hilson's "Knock You Down" was a standout tonight, as was Chris Brown (not a pariah on this stage) crooning "Crawl" and "With You."
"No one is paid to be here, we're all here from the bottom of our hearts, because we're all brothers and sisters…No one is exempt from being knocked down," Hilson said.
Robin Thicke crooned "Dreamworld," then was joined by India.Arie for Marvin Gaye's "Mercy Mercy Me."
Arie also teamed with Kirk Franklin and Chrisette Michele on "Are You Listening: A Love Song for Haiti," a moving piano ballad penned especially for the relief effort.
Wyclef was also a strong presence tonight, but perhaps the biggest round of applause was reserved for Clinton, who came out to a thundering standing ovation, having just arrived in Miami from Haiti, where he's been working on the ground as a United Nations coordinator.
"I would have come all the way to Miami just to be introduced by you," our former president, ever the flirt, told Queen Latifah.
Other great musical moments were provided by Nas, Akon and Pitbull, Mary J. Blige (who was also amazing at Hope for Haiti Now), Ne-Yo, Ludacris and Monica.
Queen Latifah, Diddy and Pharrell closed it out by leading the audience in a rendition of "Lean on Me."
Wyclef's Yele Haiti, C.A.R.E. and Project MediShare are among the beneficiaries of tonight's broadcast. For more information, go to soshelpforhaiti.org.
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