It is not an easy task to fill in for an iconic frontman like Bono on epics like "Where the Streets Have No Name" and "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" from U2's The Joshua Tree, but leave it to Bruce Springsteen to make it look easy.
The Boss joined the band onstage last night, Dec. 1, for the A (RED) Thank You concert. Bono could not make the World AIDS Day performance due to a recent bicycle accident, but Springsteen and Coldplay's Chris Martin were quick to help. Kanye West and Carrie Underwood also performed.
Had Springsteen decided to where some shades, he would have looked just like the Irish frontman. The Boss strolled out on stage during The Edge's shimmering guitar intro to "Where the Streets Have No Name" and looked supremely confident. Springsteen brought a little of that hardened, New-Jersey grit to the Joshua Tree hit.
The band opted for another classic from the 1987 album with "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For," which Springsteen dedicated to Bono. Both performances were superb. Check them out in the video below.
Former President Bill Clinton introduced U2 with Martin. They ran through 2000's "Beautiful Day" and 1987's "With or Without You."
West performed a medley of hits including "Power," "Jesus Walks," "Black Skinhead" and "Stronger." "Touch the Sky" did not air on the televised broadcast, Rap-Up notes.
The event was streamed live via YouTube and iHeartRadio. Bono's own organization, (RED), put the whole thing together.
"This year is a World AIDS Day like no other," Bono said in a statement. "The world reached a tipping point in the fight against AIDS — more people were newly added to life-saving treatment than were newly infected with the virus. A lot of people are calling it the beginning of the end of AIDS.
"We wouldn't be at this point without American leadership, people from the left and the right. Today, 13 million people have access to life-saving treatment, up from 300,000 just over 10 years ago. Americans don't know the role they've played in this fight. Tonight's event is to inform them and thank them."
