#MusicForHope: Ten best home performances by top international artists

Sahil Shah

During this gloomy lockdown period, our favourite artists have given us some exquisite live performances from the comfort of their homes. We have compiled a list of our top ten favourite performances so far.

1. Andrea Bocelli
To celebrate Easter Sunday (12th April 2020), Andrea Bocelli performed a  special concert from an empty Duomo cathedral in Milan. The virtuoso performed hoping to lift the spirits of his home country during the worst weeks of the pandemic, rightfully calling the show ‘Music for Hope’. His set included different covers of 5 hymns – Panis Angelicus, Ave Maria, Sancta Maria, Domine Deus, and, finally, Amazing Grace.

2. Elton John
The World Health Organisation and Global Citizen together organised a live performance titled ‘One World: Together At Home’ on April 18. Sir Elton John performed his song I’m Still Standing in the driveway of his home, and dedicated it to all those who have been working on the frontline.

3. John Legend & Sam Smith
Another stellar performance from Global Citizen’s ‘One World’ concert was by the two Grammy-winning artists, John Legend and Sam Smith. The duo remotely performed the classic song Stand by Me by Ben E. King, evoking a sense of hope.

4. Lewis Capaldi
Lewis Capaldi performed his remarkable song Before You Go from his latest album Divinely Uninspired To A Hellish Extent on The Late Show with James Corden from his home in Scotland. His song deservedly peaked at #3 on Billboard charts.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yk38rbslUcc

5. Paul McCartney
Back to the Global Citizen’s live show ‘One World’, the legendary Sir Paul McCartney gifted us a beautiful performance of the song Lady Madonna. The Beatles’ frontman dedicated his standout performance to all the doctors, nurses, and medical staff risking their lives to save others.

6. James Blake
James Blake took to Instagram to hold a live performance for his viewers for a little over an hour. Using his piano as the only instrument, he played his tracks, The Colour in Anything, I’ll Come Too and Retrograde. He also covered several songs by other artists like Frank Ocean, Billie Eilish, Bill Withers, Don McLean, Feist, and Joni Mitchell.

7. The Rolling Stones
At number 7, we have the evergreen band The Rolling Stones performing the song You can’t Always Get What You Want. The four members, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Ronnie Wood and Charlie Watts seamlessly coordinated their performances, from their respective homes, for the live streaming of the Global Citizen’s performance One World: Together at Home.

8. Sam Fischer
The up and coming Australian musician Sam Fischer made his television debut on Jimmy Kimmel’s Live from the Lavatory segment. Fischer performed his enchanting song This City. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ir2khjIn51s

9. Charlie Puth
Charlie Puth, another artist who performed via live stream for Global Citizen’s One World series, streamed his show live on Instagram for 29 minutes. Along with songs like See You Again, Some Type of Love and Attention, he also performed James Taylor’s You’ve Got a Friend. His perfect pitch succeeded in uniting the viewers, assuring everyone that they weren’t alone in their fight against COVID-19.

10. Dua Lipa
On The Late Show with James Corden, we saw Dua Lipa perform live from London on March 30. She performed her super hit Don’t Start Now from her brand-new album Future Nostalgia. Joining the chat were some of her dancer and musician friends who added to the experience.