Conde Nast and CBS held its 5th annual Fashion Rocks concert at New York’s Radio City Music Hall on Friday (Sept. 5) and superstar acts like Beyonce, Rihanna, Miley Cyrus, Kid Rock, the Pussycat Dolls, Justin Timberlake and Mary J. Blige took the stage to celebrate the kick-off event of Mercedes Benz fashion week.
Hosted by Dennis Leary, the show started strong with a performance by Rihanna. Clad in a gold bustier and feathers in her hair, the Barbados-born singer performed an elaborate rendition of Madonna’s 1990 hit single “Vogue.”
The set was followed with a stirring tribute to Etta James by Beyonce, who will be playing the legendary singer in the upcoming film “Cadillac Records.” Singing “At Last,” Beyonce sported a cropped, blonde wig, simulating one of James’ traditional dos, and wore a form-fitting, 50’s style gold dress. At the end of her performance, Beyonce walked over to James, who was sitting front row, and thanked her for her musical contributions, stating: “without you, artists like me would never have this opportunity.”
Both Rihanna and Beyonce traded their golden garb for black, skin tight jeans and black tees for one of the night’s most memorable moments — a performance of the charity single “Just Stand Up,” joined by Carrie Underwood, Miley Cyrus, Nicole Scherzinger, Natasha Bedingfield, Mary J. Blige, Ciara, Leona Lewis, Mariah Carey, Fergie, Keyshia Cole and Ashanti.
Other outstanding sets included Mariah Carey’s, who wore a floor-length, silver dress while singing her new track, “That Chick;” Chris Brown’s tribute to Sam Cooke which included a short version of “Cupid,” followed by an acrobatic performance of “Forever;” Justin Timberlake’s high-pitched “Got To Give You Up,” by Marvin Gaye; an all-black-laden Kid Rock and a white-jumpsuit-wearing Mary J. Blige for a duet of The Temptations’ “(I Know) I’m Losing You;” and Timberlake and Beyonce, this time in a gold jumpsuit, for Marvin Gaye and Tami Terrell’s “Ain’t Nothing Like The Real Thing.”
Additional performances came courtesy of Solange, who wore an assymetrical, layered dress, for a interpretation of her single, “I Decided,” Keith Urban, U.K.’s Duffy with “Mercy,” and Black Eyed Peas for a version of Rolling Stones’ “Miss You.” Fergie and Deborah Harry later teamed up for “Call Me,” One Republic and Timbaland performed “Apologize,” and the Pussycat Dolls sang “When I Grow Up.”
To close the show, Kid Rock and Lynyrd Skynyrd came together for “All Summer Long” and “Sweet Home Alabama,” which got the entire venue on their feet.
This year’s “Fashion Rocks,” airing today (Tuesday, Sept. 9) at 9 p.m. on CBS, will donate its proceeds to Stand Up to Cancer.
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