Elton John is going to be doing his bit for American morale during the coronavirus pandemic when he headlines a “living room benefit concert” this Sunday.
The British singer, who celebrated his 73rd birthday yesterday, is broadcasting the concert on Fox in conjunction with iHeartMedia.
Concert is to raise funds for first responders dealing with coronavirus
But the show isn’t just to boost morale; it aims to raise funds and pay tribute to America’s front line health care workers and first responders amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Fox states that: “The special event will support Americans who have been resilient as the nation attempts to fight the spread of the COVID-19 virus. Viewers will be encouraged to support two of the many charitable organizations helping victims and first responders during the pandemic.”
Feeding America and First Responders Children’s Foundation will directly benefit from proceeds raised.
Elton John will be joined by many music stars including Billie Eilish
Furthermore, it’s not just Sir Elton who will be performing; he’ll also be joined by Alicia Keys, Backstreet Boys, Billie Eilish, Billie Joe Armstrong, Mariah Carey, Tim McGraw, and others.
“Joined” is perhaps not the correct word here as all the musical stars will be practicing social-distancing and will be playing in their own homes.
They’ll be using personal cell phones, cameras, and audio equipment to broadcast to the socially-isolated masses.
The hour-long event titled FOX Presents the IHeart Living Room Concert for America will have no commercials and will begin broadcasting at 9 pm ET on Fox and iHeartMedia radio stations.
Fox will be offering the event across all of its linear and digital platforms.
The time-slot was initially scheduled for the iHeartRadio Music Awards, which were postponed as a result of the growing pandemic.
The executive producers are John Sykes and Tom Poleman, for iHeartMedia and Joel Gallen, For Tenth Planet Productions, who produced the multi-network telethons immediately following 9/11, Hurricane Katrina and the Haiti Earthquake.
These aren’t the only music stars to take to the internet to perform an at-home concert during the coronavirus pandemic.
Garth Brooks and Coldplay’s Chris Martin have also performed online
On Monday night country music legend Garth Brooks and his wife, Trisha Yearwood, delivered an emotional concert on Facebook Live. It proved incredibly popular, with 3.4 million fans logging on and causing the site to crash.
Coldplay’s Chris Martin, John Legend, and many other musicians have also performed online for their fans.
The concert will air Sunday, March 29, from 9:00–10:00 pm ET.