The Best Unexpected Duets
The music industry has become a crazy mix of passion, genius, and ego. Take John Mayer for example. He’s a darn good musician with a knack for soulful lyrics and he knows it. Mayer has himself listed as his favorite artist on Facebook, he broke Taylor Swift’s heart, and he was once quoted as saying “Sometimes I get so bold and I'm so confident about what I'm doing that I actually try to be more of a dork because it's a really liberating feeling to experience what it's like to not care."
That’s why it’s a breath of fresh air to come across artists who appreciate their fans almost as much as their fans do them. Taylor Swift is the obvious example but what about Hanson? The former 90s boy band famous for “MMMBop” is still touring but now they’ve teamed up with TOMS Shoes. To promote this effort and encourage fan unity, the men host a barefoot mile walk before every concert where fans are encouraged to ask questions and engage with the artists.
Dave Grohl, Foo Fighters frontman and former drummer for Nirvana, is another example of an artist who hasn’t lost touch with reality. Instead of using the media, Grohl wrote a letter to his fans in early October to confirm a Foo Fighters hiatus. He also poured one thirsty fan a beer mid-set.
While there are many more examples like these, it’s important to note that amidst these artists you’ll find a long list of good deeds conducted mid-concert, BRAVEN’s favorite being duets. So stop what you’re doing because BRAVEN has found a full list of the best impromptu, planned, and touching duets you’ll find online.
1. Michael Buble and Sam
One dedicated mother had the gall to interrupt Michael Buble mid-concert to inform him that her 15-year-old son would make the perfect partner. The rest is history:
2. Katy Perry and Jodi
Comedy Central held their annual “Night of Too Many Stars” autism benefit in October. The story of the night was about Jodi DiPiazza, an 11-year-old girl who has overcome her autism diagnosis to become a beautiful piano player. Her favorite artist is Katy Perry and on this particular night, Jodi’s dream came true:
3. Martina McBride and Kate
This year has been a big month for fan duets. On September 28 country singer Martina McBride was performing for a sold-out crowd in Nashville, TN when she caught glimpse of a sign that read “I want to sing with you.” The sign’s holder was 13-year-old Kate Falcon. McBride pulled her up on stage and launched into a beautiful rendition of her hit song “Anyway” for a frenzied crowd:
4. Nicki Minaj, Sophia Grace, and Rosie
There are a few very important things to note about this next video. It’s not from a live concert. Ellen DeGeneres recently surprised two guests with the chance to sing with their idol, Nicki Minaj. They have become internet superstars thanks to a full YouTube channel of videos showing the two girls wearing tutus while belting out hits. Oh yeah, and they’re both under 10 years of age.
5. Lady Gaga and Maria
In February, 2011 Maria Aragon from Canada published her cover of Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way” on YouTube. Sure, she’s only 12 and can sing better than many professional performers but who thought that video would actually go anywhere? Well Lady Gaga caught wind of the video, tweeted the link, and said “Can’t stop crying watching this. This is why I make music. She is the future.”
One month later Maria joined Ms. Gaga on stage in Toronto during her Monster Ball Tour. The result was magical.
