WASHINGTON — Some 5,000 military kids, their parents, and local Washington D.C. school children packed into the Washington Convention Center Saturday night for the kids’ inaugural ball, the concert thrown by First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden to honor the military families they support through their Joining Forces charity.
The event featured a parade of headlining performers, including Usher, Mindless Behavior, the cast of the hit TV show Glee and Katy Perry, who closed out the show
Between performances, the audience were treated to video greetings from a host of television and music stars, including the British group The Wanted, Ryan Seacrest, Django Unchained and Scandal star Kerry Washington, Jimmy Fallon, Ellen DeGeneres, and David Letterman. Other stars sending greetings to the military kids were Big Time Rush, Victoria Justice, Biz Markie and the cast of Yo Gabba Gabba.
The event was emceed by America’s Got Talent host Nick Cannon, who thanked the First Lady and Dr. Biden for their advocacy on behalf of military families, and for supporting his own charitable efforts.
Usher opened the show with a laser-filled performance of three of his biggest hits, throwing in a few partisan appeals to the crowd, ahead of President Barack Obama’s second inaugural. Usher worked “Obama” into the lyrics for his hit song “Oh My Gosh” and during a pause in his playlist, asked the crowd, “Aren’t you guys excited that we’ve got another four years!?”
Usher wasn’t the only one to get a little political.
After a display by the giant Washington Nationals mascots, the “racing presidents,” Cannon declared the Abraham Lincoln giant costumed puppet the winner over Teddy Roosevelt, Thomas Jefferson and George Washington, adding: “honestly I think President Obama would have beat all of you.”
The show featured one of the groups Cannon’s show has helped make famous. Illuminate, a techno dance group that debuted on America’s Got Talent, performed a surreal dance number to “I’m Glad You Came.”
Dancing With the Stars winner J.R. Martinez, himself a military veteran who was severely burned on his face and body in Iraq, spoke to the crowd about the sacrifices of military families, particularly the children of service members. His presentation promoted “Joining Forces,” and he introduced a moving video that described the first and second ladies’ charity.
There was also a touch of Chicago flavor, as Cannon introduced a pair of groups he said the first lady recommended — the youth choir Soul Children of Chicago and Black Violin, an African-American duo who combine classical violin and contemporary music. The two performed an uptempo version of The Beatles’ “Come Together” that had the crowd on its feet, after which the choir performed a gospel number that seemed to resonate in the hall as much as — or in the case of some of the parents, more than — the pop acts that preceded them.
But while there was a little “church” in the proceedings, and some moving performances, including from the cast of Glee, the night belonged to the kids.
The boy band Mindless Behavior elicited loud screams from the audience when they took the stage. And first daughters Sasha and Malia Obama got a special shout out from the group, as the Jumbotron screens captured them blushing in the front row.
Beyond the music, the evening was a showcase for Joining Forces. Fourth grader Jalen Franco, of Newport News, Virginia, whose mother is in the Navy, introduced Dr. Jill Biden, who expressed her thanks to the military families, and introduced a group of children from her home state’s 153rd Military Company, whose parents deployed to Afghanistan this month.
Mrs. Biden said she and Michelle Obama started Joining Forces, “to encourage all Americans to find ways to support our troops, veterans and military families.” She added that the charity is “especially important to me because i know something about being a military mom. Our son, Beau, is a member of the Delaware national guard, and he [formerly] deployed to Afghanistan.”
Dr. Biden introduced Mrs. Obama to a roar from the crowd. The first lady, sporting her new signature bangs, introduced children and families from Fort Hood, Joint Base Pearl Harbor Hickaem, Wright AFB, Camp Pendleton and Coast Guard Air Station Clearwater, who were watching via satellite, along with kids form Air Station Sigonella, who contributed the night’s color guard.
Citing all the pomp and excitement of the inauguration, Mrs. Obama said that her “very favorite part of this entire weekend is being right here with all of you, because for me, this is what inauguration is all about.”
“It’s about being American and celebrating all the things that make this country great: our men and women in uniform, our military spouses, and their kids.”
Mrs. Obama said that when she and Dr. Biden proposed the idea of a concert, the celebrity artists jumped at the chance to participate. “And they’re not here for me,” she said.”They’re here for all of you, because they know the sacrifices that you make every day.”
Citing statistics about the families most affected by our deployments, Mrs. Obama said, “did you know that a military kid attends an average of six to nine schools by the time they graduate from high school? Just think of how much courage it takes to always be the new kid,” she added. “Think about how hard it is for military kids to be away from the ones they love the most. that’s just a glimpse of what it takes to be a military kid. it means always thinking about things that are bigger than yourself. it means growing up a little faster … than other kids.”
“You all are an important part of the greatest military on earth.”
Saying the country has a greater obligation to serve its military families than ever before, Mrs. Obama said that as the country draws down its wars, “we will not draw down our support for you.”
“We cannot rest, we cannot be satisfied until we are certain that we are serving all of you.”
With that, the first lady introduced the final performer of the night: Katy Perry, who closed out the show with a performance that brought the entire audience to its feat — with lots more high pitched screaming.
Follow Joy Reid on Twitter at @thereidreport.