This weekend we tuned in to our devices to hear performances from some of the world’s most renowned musicians and entertainers. An epic concert curated by Lady Gaga and featuring some of our favourite stars aired live on prime time America on Saturday night and here in Ireland, we were treated to a special two-hour show on RTE on Sunday evening. The full concert lasted an epic 8 hours with artists passing the torch along to each other for 30-minute stretches of entertainment. The only interruptions were moving footage from people on the frontline and messages of hope.
Musicians made their message loud and clear, sticking to the WHO guidelines when social distancing and taking care of those most vulnerable should be our main priorities right now. Rather than just hearing the singers play their songs we also got to hear their opinion and their messages of hope for the world while we are in the middle of this pandemic. The RTE version featured messages from doctors and organisations that are coming together to help people stay safe.
From Lady Gaga’s stunning performance of ‘Smile’ that touched our hearts to Hozier’s smooth tones with ‘Take Me to Church’, we were treated to live music from some of the world’s biggest icons.
With special cameos from actors like Matthew McConaughey and high profile individuals like Michelle Obama the tributes kept coming for our amazing medical staff around the world. We heard from philanthropists Bill and Melinda Gates who stressed the need for a vaccine to fight the virus and thanked all of the scientists around the world working on a cure.
There were so many spectacular performances packed into this online music marathon that it is hard to narrow it down to our favourites but we will give it a try.
Our very own star Niall Horan was one of the first stars to kick off the concert performing ‘Slow Hands’ and ‘Black and White’ with some impressive guitar skills.
There was no red carpet rolled out for the stars in this concert where we got to see the Rolling Stones rocking in their living rooms with their classic ‘You Can’t Always Get What you Want” and Elton John bringing out his own grand piano for a faultless rendition of ‘I’m Still Standing’. We even found Jack Johnson performing ‘Better Together’ on the front steps of his house.
One after the other, each artist inspired us to be positive and remain hopeful. Taylor Swift had us in tears with her stunning performance of ‘Soon You’ll Get Better’ and we were brought to tears once again with Stevie Wonder’s touching tribute to his long time friend Bill Withers with ‘Lean on Me’.
Another performance that demonstrated the power of music and showed off the vocal skills of two pop icons was when John Legend and Sam Smith sang a duet rendition of Ben.E King’s Stand By Me. Performing from their Living Rooms they still managed to maintain seamless harmonies.
We also saw power couple Shawn Mendes and Camilla Cabello teamed up for an acoustic version of ‘What a Wonderful World’ showing us that love will always find a way.
The concert not only gave the audience at home a stream of fantastic music to sing-along to, it also gave celebrities a platform to shout their message of thanks to the frontline workers.
In addition to the performances, we were given some emotional reminders of the total that the virus has taken around the world and the wonderful work that those on the frontline are doing to combat the virus. Each day our healthcare workers are risking their lives for those that are most vulnerable.
On the RTE broadcast, we hear from members of the public about the different things that they miss: the Barbers, School, the Playground, Hugging, Grandparents, the list goes on and we find ourselves mesmerised by the honesty and warmth of the general public.
Watching ‘Together At Home’ we were touched both by the collaborative effort of artists coming together at home with a common cause and the message of solidarity from everyone who is self-isolating and social distancing to help solve this crisis.
All funds raised by Together At Home through the Global Citizen organisation will go to the World Health Organisation towards the fight against Covid-19.