This past Saturday, CBS Radio’s fourth annual We Can Survive event lit up the Hollywood Bowl. The sold-out concert—hosted by Carson Daly—included sets from Bruno Mars, Ariana Grande, Pitbull, OneRepublic, G-Eazy, Meghan Trainor and Charlie Puth. There was even a surprise performance from Backstreet Boys.
Once again, the concert was put on to benefit breast cancer research and awareness. That said, $2 from every ticket sold went to Young Survival Coalition.
BSB kicked off their first-ever Hollywood Bowl gig without an introduction, suddenly breaking into “Backstreet’s Back” after Grande’s exit and causing the crowd to leap right back to their feet. A dance party ensued and continued through “Incomplete,” “As Long As You Love Me,” “We’ve Got It Going On,” “I Want It That Way” and “Larger Than Life.”
Earlier, Bebe Rexha and Marc E Bassy appeared on stage during G Eazy’s set. Rexha joined the rap star for their hit “Me, Myself and I,” and Bassy came out for “Some King of Drug” and “You and Me.”
Meghan Trainor wowed with breakout hit “All About That Bass” and follow-up “Lips Are Movin,” “Like I’m Gonna Lose You,” “NO” and “Me Too.” She also brought everyone to the edge of their seats with a rendition of Drake’s smash single, “One Dance.”
And of course, Pitbull made sure to make everyone feel like it was spring break in Miami with an energetic rager of a performance that included jams like “Fireball” and “Don’t Stop the Party.”
Standouts from the pint-sized powerhouse that is Grande included with “Into You,” current single “Side to Side,” which is #14 at Pop radio and #16 at Rhythm now, “One Last Time” and Dangerous Woman lead single and title track “Dangerous Woman.”
Mars ended the night with a bang, kicking his headlining slot off with Mark Ronson and his recently Diamond-certified megahit, “Uptown Funk.” Naturally, he closed with a spirited delivery of new single “24K Magic”—currently Top 15 at Pop and Rhythm—and a whole lotta fireworks.
And we weren’t wrong when we previously reported that execs and radio weasels would be out in full force for the shindig. Spotted schmoozing up a storm were CBS’ Andre Fernandez, Chris Oliviero, Michael Martin, Kevin Weatherly, Erik Bradley, Chris Patyk, Lisa Worden and AMP Radio host Booker; RCA’s Dennis Blair, Danny Cooper and Mike Boccuzzi; Republic’s Gary Spangler; Warner Bros.’ Peter Gray, Dave Dyer and Ko-Fung Shih; Spotify’s Troy Carter and Tiffany Kumar; Crush Music’s Garrett Capone.
All in all, it was a beyond successful night. We just wish security would've stopped HITS' Todd Hensley from slipping by. He can't refrain from trying to recreate Grande's dance moves around the office. Let's just say, we're definitely not "Into" it. And don't get us started about his falsetto...
Scroll down for a selection of photos:
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| Michael Martin, HITS' Todd Hensley and Chris Oliviero |
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| Ariana Grande (Getty Images for CBS Radio) |
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| Todd Hensley, Kevin Weatherly, Garrett Capone |
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| Bebe Rexha, G-Eazy (Getty Images for CBS Radio) |
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| Todd Hensley, Troy Carter, Peter Gray, Dave Dyer, Ko-Fung Shih |
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| Meghan Trainor (Getty Images for CBS Radio) |
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| Backstreet Boys (Getty Images for CBS Radio) |
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| Gary Spangler, Todd Hensley |
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| Todd Hensley, Dennis Blair |
