The One World: Together At Home special broadcast event united some of the biggest stars in music — including Lady Gaga, Beyoncé, and Taylor Swift — on Saturday night in support and celebration of essential workers and the World Health Organization (WHO). It provided a collective moment for the world to join together in the fight against the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.
The event's musical moments spanned genres and traveled through eras, but all of the performances were connected by an uplifting tone and a spirit of resilience.
Here are some of the top musical moments to watch (and rewatch!) from the television broadcast of One World: Together At Home, and a recap of what you might have missed from the six-hour globally-curated digital event, too.
Lady Gaga
One World: Together At Home was curated in collaboration with Lady Gaga, so it was fitting that she opened the evening with a beautiful cover of Frank Sinatra’s "Smile."
"What I’d like to do for you tonight, if I can, is just give you the permission to, for a moment… Smile," she said, acknowledging that the pandemic has been extremely hard on millions of people worldwide.
Stevie Wonder
Powerful piano ballads reigned throughout the evening, including Stevie Wonder’s cover of "Lean On Me" by the late Bill Withers.
Kacey Musgraves
Country star Kacey Musgraves's "Rainbow" performance acted as a sweet and simple song of encouragement.
Elton John
Elton John launched into a dynamic performance of "I’m Still Standing" in his home driveway.
"This is for everyone out there who’s been working on the frontline 24/7," he said. "Thank you for all your expertise, your love, your care, your humanity."
Paul McCartney
Paul McCartney, meanwhile, sang "Lady Madonna" as a heartfelt thank you to health care workers.
"I’m very honored to be part of this program tonight that celebrates the true heroes — our health care workers all around the world," he said. "Let's tell our leaders that we need them to strengthen health care systems around the world so this never happens again."
Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift sang "Soon You’ll Get Better" in a truly heart-wrenching performance of a song about her mom’s battle with cancer that likely resonates with all the people affected by coronavirus worldwide who have seen family members suffering with the virus or have grappled with the illness themselves.
Camila Cabello and Shawn Mendes
Camila Cabello and Shawn Mendes performed a piano duet of "What a Wonderful World" in a candle-lit room.
Eddie Vedder
Eddie Vedder sang a mournful "River Cross" surrounded by candles.
Jimmy Fallon and The Roots
Jimmy Fallon, who helped host the broadcast, teamed up with his show's house band, The Roots, to perform "The Safety Dance," as videos of health care workers in masks and gloves dancing played along. The Roots were also decked out in safety gear like gloves and goggles — and they made sure to wash their hands.
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones performed on a split-screen performance of "You Can’t Always Get What You Want," from their respective homes, as drummer Charlie Watts played air drums with a makeshift set of boxes, chairs, and tables.
John Legend and Sam Smith
John Legend teamed up with Sam Smith for a split-screen cover of "Stand By Me," which was absolutely beautiful.
Lizzo
Lizzo covered "A Change Is Gonna Come" by Soul legend Sam Cooke.
"We got this, we'll get through this together," she said.
Jennifer Lopez
Jennifer Lopez covered Barbara Streisand’s "People" while sitting near a tree wrapped in white lights.
"You know there’s one thing that I realized more than anything during this whole time and it’s how much we all need each other," she said.
Keith Urban
Country star Keith Urban performed "Higher Love" with multiple versions of himself very cleverly edited into the video to create harmonies, in what looked like a decked-out home studio. One of the Keith Urbans even went off on a guitar solo.
He followed the performance by saying: "To all of the health care workers, everybody on the frontlines and behind the scenes, on behalf of [my wife Nicole Kidman], our girls, myself, all of us here. We say thank you."
Maluma
Reggaeton star Maluma performed an acoustic version of the party hit "Carnaval."
Burna Boy
Afrofusion hitmaker Burna Boy sang "African Giant" and "Hallelujah."
Billie Eilish
Pop phenomenon Billie Eilish sang "Sunny" in front of a sunny backdrop, as her brother Finneas played the piano at her side.
Billie Joe Armstrong
Billie Joe Armstrong sang an acoustic version of the Green Day song "Wake Me Up When September Ends," channeling the global mood of people hunkering down during the pandemic. Images of empty streets played across the screen to highlight how desolate many cities have become since social distancing took effect to flatten the curve.
Celine Dion, Andrea Bocelli, Lady Gaga, and John Legend
The event culminated in a riveting performance of "The Prayer" by Celine Dion, Andrea Bocelli, Lady Gaga, and John Legend, with piano accompaniment by Lang Lang. The artists all performed from their respective homes, adhering to social distancing guidelines established by medical professionals.
The origins of One World: Together At Home are in the "Together At Home" digital concert series — which first kicked off on March 16, with a heartwarming home performance by Chris Martin. This led to daily streamed performances from dozens of other artists and influencers.
In that tradition, the special TV broadcast was preceded by a mammoth six-hour digital event, filled with performances from artists all over the world, as well as inspirational news stories, calls to action, and more.
R&B star Andra Day opened the digital program with a deeply moving performance of "Rise Up" as her falsetto reached stunning heights.
"Though we’re in the midst of such a terrible tragedy ... we can develop a deeper sense of community," she said.
This idea of forging a global community resonated throughout the event.
From the get go, the digital event moved through living rooms and home studios, across childhood bedrooms and tropical-themed stages, as artists celebrated essential workers, played some of their most beloved songs, and provided solace to their fans.
The Killers played stripped-down versions of "Mr. Brightside," and "Caution," while Vishal Mishra delivered a powerful performance from his home in India.
Liam Payne teamed up with Rita Ora for a split-screen duet of "For You," and Payne’s former One Direction bandmate Niall Horan sang a soulful, acoustic version of "Slow Hands."
"It’s a pretty dark time for us," Payne said. "For my own personal benefit, I’m trying to think of all the beautiful moments coming out of [the pandemic]. I think we’re all being brought closer together by this solidarity we’re feeling."
Hussein Al Jassmi played two warmhearted ballads from his home in the United Arab Emirates, while Eason Chan delivered a moving performance from China. Lisa Mishra performed from her grandma’s home in India, and Zucchero played piano and sang from his living room in Italy.
The day featured emerging artists and people who have topped music charts for decades. Country legend Billy Ray Cyrus strummed his acoustic guitar, while German folk duo Milky Chance performed "Stolen Dance," and Lady Antebellum band members sang "What I’m Leaving For" from three different locations.
Colombian legend Juanes sang "Mas Futuro Que Pasado" and "Es Por Ti," and called for global unity.
"We are in this fight together guys, and we will come out of it stronger and wiser," Juanes said.
Hozier sang the wildly popular pop-rock song "Take Me To Church", as well teaming up with Maren Morris for a performance of "The Bones"; Black Coffee brought house beats, and Sho Madjozi remixed her rap hit "John Cena" with coronavirus-themed lyrics.
Singer-songwriter Sebastian Yantra sang the love songs "Robarte Un Beso" and "Un Ano," while Latin pop star Luis Fonsi brought the house down with an acoustic version of his global banger "Despacito."
"It doesn’t matter where we’re from, what language you speak, what color your skin is, it’s about being together," Fonsi said.
Common echoed this sentiment with his own words of wisdom before performing "The Light."
"There are certain things happening in the world right now that are bringing us together in ways that we hadn't been before," he said, before applauding the essential workers worldwide.
K-Pop group SuperM managed to put on a performance that was essentially a music video as they all went about their daily lives — working out, doing homework, cooking — while singing "With You," an energetic and uplifting song, from their respective homes.
John Legend kept the party going with a raucous and uplifting version of "Bigger Love," which was interspersed with clips of couples dancing together in their homes.
Jennifer Hudson invited backup singers to join her from their homes for a powerful, soaring rendition of "Hallelujah."
Singer-songwriter Annie Lennox, meanwhile, performed a somber version of "I Saved the World Today" from her piano, following a rousing call to action.
"We have a collective responsibility to make sure global health systems are strong enough to identify and prevent future pandemics, before they happen again," she said.
Sheryl Crow performed the country classics "I Shall Believe" and "Everyday Is a Winding Road" from her guitar-studded home studio, and Charlie Puth showed off his powerful voice from his childhood bedroom — complete with an unmade bed with clothes strewn across it — for "See You Again" and "Attention."
Ben Platt transformed the simple The Beatles tune "I Want To Hold Your Hand" into a painful, yearning ode about loneliness in this era of social distancing, while South African hip-hop star Cassper Nyovest gave a moving and joyful performance of "Malome."
Kesha talked about how eager she was to hug her fans again before giving spirited performances of "Rainbow" and "Praying."
"I miss my fans and people so much," she said. "I miss giving my fans hugs, and I know that there’s so many people working and not sleeping and sacrificing so much."
Ellie Goulding, meanwhile, thanked the meme makers who have made her laugh during this trying time. She performed acoustic versions of "Love Me Like You Do" and "Burn."
The electro-pop duo Sofi Tukker brought some tropical fun to the day with "Purple Hat," and "Drinkee"; Jessie J invited her fans to dance along and sing to "Bang Bang"; and Christine and the Queens' Héloïse Adelaïde Letissier danced around her living room to the beautiful "People I’ve Been Sad" before eloquently capturing the mood of the world during the pandemic.
"I know it's hard to stay inside, it’s really strange," she said. "There’s no human contact and I know it can be draining emotionally. It’s the fourth week here in France, but the thing I'm saying to myself when I want to keep the motivation to stay inside is: 'Think of all the people outside who are working to eradicate the virus and protect the people who are affected.'"