Christina Aguilera performs “Beautiful” on the Hurricane Sandy: Coming Together telethon – Photo: NBC
On Friday night, NBC aired Hurricane Sandy: Coming Together, a one-hour telethon that raised funds for those affected by the disastrous tropical storm.
Hosted by the Today show’s Matt Lauer, Hurricane Sandy: Coming Together welcomed such stars as Bruce Springsteen, Christina Aguilera, Bon Jovi, Billy Joel, Steven Tyler, Sting, Mary J Blige, and Jimmy Fallon for several stabnd out performances.
Tina Fey, Whoopi Goldberg, Jon Stewart and other celebrities urged viewers to donate to the American Red Cross in an effort to help the affected areas of Northeastern United States recover as quickly as possible.
It was a star-studded night of performances as Christina Aguilera gave fans “Beautiful”, her single about resilience and self-love while Bon Jovi rocked out to their anthem “Livin’ on a Prayer” and a tearful Mary J. Blige sang “The Living Proof,” another emotionally-packed single.
Billy Joel performed “Miami 2017 (Seen the Lights Go Out on Broadway),” a song that captured New York City’s near bankruptcy in the 1970s. Talkshow host Jimmy Fallon was joined by an all-star performance of the Drifters’ “Under the Boardwalk” that included Joel, Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler, and Bruce Springsteen. An emotional Steven Tyler also performed a solo of “Dream On” on the piano before Sting performed the Police hit, “Message In a Bottle” that promised to “send an SOS to the world.”
With over 90 people confirmed dead after Hurricane Sandy swept through the eastern seaboard, and billions of dollars in property damage, the recovery effort will be long and costly with millions of residents still without power, gas, and dwindling food supplies.
Springsteen and the E Street Band closed the show and made it through an emotional version of “Land of Hopes and Dreams”. “God bless New York,” Springsteen said, “God bless the Jersey shore.”
People can still donate at redcross.org, 1-800-HELP-NOW or text “REDCROSS” to 90999 to make a $10 donation.