Elton John Hosts 25th Annual Academy Awards Viewing Party Fundraiser
There is no shortage of viewing parties on Oscar night, but Elton John has hosted the night's preeminent event for years — and has raised millions for AIDS research along the way.
John hosted his 25th annual Elton John AIDS Foundation Academy Awards Viewing Party last night, rounding up a crowd of celebrities at West Hollywood Park. Yahoo! Music offers a rundown of the guest list, which included Sting, current Queen singer Adam Lambert and Smokey Robinson, among many others — and a live performance from up-and-coming group St. Paul and the Broken Bones.
As you can see in the fan-shot footage below, John joined the band during their set, coming up on stage for a duet on the song "I'll Be Your Woman." Calling himself "absolutely delighted to welcome" them during his introductory remarks, John called the group "amazing, fantastic musicians" and predicted that the guests would be "thrilled by their performance." Frontman Paul Janeway obviously came away thrilled — after sharing the mic with John, he told the crowd, "You can't beat that s---. You can't beat that."
In addition to live music and post-Oscars entertainment, guests had the opportunity to bid on a number of items, including a five-night stay at Steven Tyler's Maui vacation home and an invitation to an exclusive party commemorating John's long songwriting partnership with lyricist Bernie Taupin. This year's fundraising totals haven't been announced, but the 2016 event brought in an impressive $6.2 million haul.
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