Usher and Blake Shelton may have different fan bases but on Friday night at AT&T Stadium, the two stars shared the stage as part of a United Way fundraiser to celebrate 90 years of helping serve communities across the country. The gala was hosted and co-chaired by former Dallas Cowboy quarterback Troy Aikman and Charlotte Jones Anderson, Dallas Cowboys Executive Vice President and Chief Brand Officer.
Both Usher and Blake Shelton, judges on the hit television music competition, The Voice, and no strangers to performing at charity events. Shelton was the first to take the stage, opening with “All About Tonight”, a perfect start to the concert. Shelton was likeable and included Texas (including playing the song “All My Exes Live in Texas” as a gracious nod to familiar Texas native and country idol, George Strait) that had the audience laughing along with him. Shelton played many other familiar songs, doing a very good job of balancing out the slower tunes with his upbeat sing along songs that seemed to be familiar to the entire crowd.
Shelton’s performance was broken up and sometimes intertwined with performances by 18 time Grammy nominated R&B artist Usher. Usher’s performances were much slower. He played a lot of older tracks, but at the same time, did a very elegant job of keeping his performance as clean and classy as possible for the charity event. His setlist picked up at the end of the night with performances of hit songs like “Yeah 3X”, “Scream” and “DJ Got Us Fallin’ In Love”.
Other highlights from the night included a number of performances by the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders, an appearance by notable former Dallas Cowboy players including Troy Aikman, Tony Dorsett, Ed “Too Tall” Jones, Preston Pearson, Emmitt Smith, Roger Staubach, Darren Woodson and Daryl Johnston, and a short appearance by former First Lady Laura Bush and her two daughters Jenna Bush Hager and Barbara Pierce Bush.
The night was a perfect way to honor the work of the United Way and people who worked to make the charity prosper for 90 years. The gala was the perfect balance of class and celebration resulting in a fun night.
