The 2021 Global Citizen Live global stream, presented by the anti-poverty charity organization of the same name, was a major success. The concert series live streamed 24 hours of performances from some of the biggest names in music on stages across the world.
Billie Eilish, Coldplay, Shawn Mendes, Alessia Cara, Lorde, Jon Batiste, and dozens more took the stage on the Great Lawn of New York City’s Central Park.
Eilish performed a full set alongside her brother and close collaborator Finneas. While the duo is used to containing their performances to just the two of them onstage, they used Global Citizen as an opportunity to expand their collaborative circle as they joined Coldplay frontman Chris Martin for a performance of the band’s classic hit “Fix You.” Over the harmony of the three musicians, the crowd joined in, too, singing every word back to them.
Earlier in the night, Mendes ran through a number of his biggest hits including “If I Can’t Have You,” “In My Blood,” “Treat You Better” and “There’s Nothing Holding Me Back.” Mendes has been a frequent performer at the festival, having played the same New York location back in 2018. He also unleashed his new single “Summer Of Love” during his set.
Lorde brought her “Solar Power” sunshine from a separate location during the daytime portion of the New York segment.
Later, Cara rocked the park with performances of “Stay” and “Scars To Your Beautiful.”
In Los Angeles, the crowd at The Greek Theatre was graced with the presence of music icon Stevie Wonder as their headliner. The musician performed three songs including the hit “Superstition” for which he brought out R&B star H.E.R. to join him.
Later, at the theatre, Demi Lovato took the stage with Adam Lambert to perform “Mad World,” a cover of the Tears For Fears track. Lovato also performed their moving single “Anyone.”
Los Angeles also received performances from OneRepublic, The Lumineers, Ozuna, Migos, and more. Green Day also performed, though from a separate location.
The London edition of Global Citizen Live saw performances from Nile Rodgers and Chic as well as Duran Duran and Kylie Minogue.
Elsewhere, BTS offered an expertly executed performance from Seoul while Keith Urban performed from Las Vegas and Metallica from Louisville, Kentucky.