MARY J BLIGE-GRAMMY CHARITY EVENT
By Jennifer Buonantony
No one does the Grammy's quite like Mary J! At least, anyone who attended the pre-Grammy Party she hosted and performed at would certainly agree. This event took place at The Avalon in Hollywood and kicked-off the awards weekend by celebrating the partnership between sponsors Belvedere Vodka & RED. It's the first of a series of (Belvedere)RED activities raising funds to fight HIV & AIDS in Africa.
The event began with a red carpet, followed by a private concert at The Avalon and VIP after-party at Bardot featuring DJ Skrillex. Belvedere kept the guests happy with an open bar of unique free- flowing cocktails (Belvedere (RED) Crimson Squeeze, Belvedere (RED) Crush, and Belvedere Unfiltered Rosemary Julep) and all proceeds went to the Global Fund, the world's leading financier of programs to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS.
Despite it being a busy weekend of jam-packed events, celebrities made sure to show their support. Guests included Chelsea Handler, Forest Whitaker, Sophia Bush, Malin Akerman, Heather Graham, Paris Hilton, Natasha Bedingfield, MC Lyte, Kim Porter, Tulisa Contostavlos (X Factor UK judge) and Glee Project winners Lindsay Pearce & Damian McGinty, to name a few.
Mary J Blige performed to a packed house with an amazing stage and lighting setup including the large red Double Sphere, a specially commissioned art installation by artist Carsten Höller to honor the union of (RED) and the world’s first super premium vodka. Blige got the crowd read to party with some of her most notable hits including "Family Affair", "Just Fine", and "No More Drama".
Mary J Blige told the audience, “I’m delighted to be supporting (Belvedere) RED in their fight against HIV & AIDS in Africa. It is one of the most devastating issues faced by millions and if we can raise awareness with this event and encourage people to buy (PRODUCT) RED, we’ll be one step closer to an HIV / AIDS free generation in 2015.”
On the red carpet, celebrity attendees were also asked to sign a special edition (Belvedere) RED bottle which will also be donated to help raise funds. Twitter fans at home were abe to sign a 'virtual bottle' by tweeting #BELVERED on the night of the event and Belvedere will donate $1 for each of those signatures to the Global Fund.
Celebrities on the red carpet were in unison about two things: Fighting this disease is priority among the music community and when it came to the Grammy's, everyone was unanimously most excited about seeing Adele return. Even Mary J Blige commented on the carpet that she was rooting for Adele to win!
Check out our video for more red carpet Grammy predictions and visit our full gallery of photos from this event. Tune in on Sunday to watch the show!
