Although the Neighborhood Ball, an event held for Barack Obama, got beat by “American Idol” last night in the TV ratings it was definitely the hottest of all official inaugural events by far.
Beyonce, Jay Z, Queen Latifah, Alicia Keys, Mariah Carey, Sting and Stevie Wonder were among the many performers who wowed the 2,000 plus crowd of Washington D.C. residents and former campaign workers for Obama.
Jamie Foxx, Leonardo DiCaprio and Denzel Washington also added lots of star power from Hollywood by introducing segments and hanging out backstage. Leonardo brought his dad along, who videotaped with his minicam the acrobat troupe forming a human pyramid. Actor Denzel Washington used a big freight elevator to get to the stage and was accompanied by a gospel choir who sang to him. They asked him if he could sing. He laughed and said not me. My wife is the one who can sing. No one wants to hear me.
Sting, standing in the back part of the elevator incognito with his brown beard, went unrecognized almost until a woman spotted him and shifted the attention.
Down inside the dressing room, made up of partitions made of thin curtains and furnished with couches and card tables, Stevie Wonder and Sting were right next to each other. As Stevie was practicing harmonica riffs, Sting was listening to the instrumental track for “Signed, Sealed, Delivered,” which was the evening’s superstar group sing along.
Stevie suddenly started to play along from the other side of the partition as Sting on his side tried the lyrics out. Stevie then stopped everything by going into an incredible jazz riff. The moment was extraordinary and only topped by the duo’s show closer on the Sting song “Brand New Day.”
Inside the holding area, meanwhile, Alicia Keys said hello to Queen Latifah. The two women’s moms discussed how they loved their performances in the movie “The Secret Life of Bees.” Queen Latifah looked absolutely stunning in the gown she was wearing. Sean Diddy Combs, dressed in a very spiffy tuxedo, lounged in a corner despite the fact he wasn’t in the show. Then later Queen Latifah went to the stage along with the mothers so they could watch the knockout performance of Alicia’s on “No One.” They also took pictures along with a nine year old beautiful girl who was wearing a white formal gown. Her mother was thrilled.
Then there was, of course, Mariah Carey along with Nick Cannon, her young husband. Cannon was perched over the stage deejaying songs for all the artists. After Wonder finished on “All About the Love Again,” his great new single from the Obama album, Cannon launched a Stevie Wonder classic hits medley.
He was asked if he did bar mitzvahs. Cannon laughed and said, why not, sure. That’s good money.
Meantime Mariah was happy and glowing, although not pregnant, over her “Hero” performance. She asked, was it ok? She then asked if Randy Jackson was there.
He wasn’t, since he was busy on his show “American Idol.” He probably would have been a lot happier here.
