FireAid concerts: Who said yes first, who got turned down and why ‘surprise moments’ are planned

Live Nation/AEG Presents/Azoff Company/LA Clippers

The star-studded FireAid concerts, taking place Jan. 30 at the Intuit Dome and Kia Forum in Inglewood, California, will feature 27 artists, from Billie Eilish and Olivia Rodrigo to Pink and Lady Gaga, to Joni Mitchell, Stevie Nicks and Rod Stewart. But there were so many others who wanted in that you can expect some unannounced performances.

Famed music manager Irving Azoff, who’s one of the producers of the event, tells Billboard the show is already running 5 1/2 hours. “After it was already on sale and [artists] are all set, then other [artists] called,” he explains.

“[We said], ‘It’s too late to add you to the bill and we don’t have a slot, but how would you like to go do XYZ with such and such an artist?'” he adds. “I think there’s a good half dozen really surprise moments.”

Azoff tells The Wall Street Journal the concert was announced 48 hours after he came up with the idea. His first call was to the Eagles, who weren’t available, but who kicked in a $2.5 million donation. The first artist who officially confirmed was Rod, who said he’d charter a plane for himself and his band.

Stevie was next to confirm and plans to perform a song “with relevant lyrics that she’d never recorded or released before,” according to theWall Street Journal.

But Azoff told the Journal he turned one superstar down because he wanted artists who had an LA connection. “My friend and client Jon Bon Jovi said, ‘I’m on the next plane.’ And I said, ‘Jon, stay in New Jersey. There’ll be a tragedy there, and we’ll come there,’” he joked.

You can watch FireAid on multiple platforms, including Apple TV+, Disney+, Hulu, Netflix, Paramount+, Prime Video, and TikTok and YouTube. 

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