More than three weeks after the earthquake in Haiti and following mammoth relief efforts by the music industry — from “Hope for Haiti Now” to “We Are the World” — artists again came out to raise money and awareness on Friday night (February 5). BET’s “SOS Saving Ourselves: Help for Haiti” brought together Justin Bieber, Wyclef Jean and Diddy for an evening of performances at American Airlines Arena in Miami.
Around 9:30 p.m. ET, Chris Brown took the stage to perform two singles from his last two albums, Exclusive and Graffiti. Wearing a gray jacket and black pants, the R&B singer began by belting out “Crawl,” one of his newer singles, beneath a collection of American flags.
The single is widely thought to be about his former girlfriend Rihanna, though the lyrics also at times seemed to fit the evening’s focus, like when Brown sang, “If we crawl till we can walk again/ Then we’ll run until we’re strong enough to jump.”
Brown infused a measure of live-show intensity to the proceedings. At times he ran across the stage while singing and paused to lead the audience in a group clap.
“We want to thank all y’all for coming out here tonight,” Brown said as the song came to an end. “Do whatever y’all can to support. For you all watching at home, do whatever you can — donate!”
Then stripping off his jacket to reveal a short-sleeve black button-down, Brown busted into “With You,” a cut from Exclusive. Produced by Norwegian heavyweights Stargate (the duo behind hits from Ne-Yo, Rihanna and Beyoncé), the song’s lyrics — “I need you, boo” — were perhaps less apt for the occasion than “Crawl.” But the energy in the performance was no less passionate. Pulling off spinning dance moves that at one point left the singer down on his knees, Brown pumped up the crowd.
To finish, Brown simply waved at the crowd and headed backstage, certainly hoping that his performance and thoughtful words might bring in much-needed donations. All funds raised at “SOS Saving Ourselves: Help for Haiti” will be donated to several charities, including Project Media Share, Yele Haiti, C.A.R.E. and Procter & Gamble’s Children’s Safe Water Program.
Source: VH1
