via Huffington Post

Obama officially became president yesterday at noon, but the real party started at the at the "We Are One" concert held in his honor on Sunday. The concert at the Lincoln Memorial kicked off the inauguration festivities and all of the biggest celebrities came to sing, speak, and groove for the new President. Despite the bitter weather, the free, public event hauled in over one million people! They stood in the National Mall from the Lincoln Memorial all the way to the Washington Monument to witness the historic inauguration event either in person or, if further back, on ten jumbo TV screens projecting the event. Historic speeches from past Presidents and other historic leaders were quoted in between musical numbers by some of our favorite singers. Most often quoted were President Abe Lincoln, President John F. Kennedy, and Martin Luther King Jr., putting Obama in good company.

Denzel Washington, the first celeb to speak at the event, explained the importance of the words We Are One: "[they] speak to who we are, and to our future." He was followed by Bruce Springsteen who played in front of a full choir. Later on, Mary J Blige sang a soulful rendition of "Lean on Me" while the crowd danced along including the new President and his first lady. Jamie Foxx riled up the crowd before quoting the new President by shouting "Chi town stand up" and, of course, the first family proudly stood up. He then got in Obama-mode to quote Obama's speech after he won the Democratic nomination, "If there's anyone who still doubts that America is not a place where all things are possible, tonight is your answer."

Tom Hanks read Aaron Copeland's "Lincoln Portrait" written in 1942 to comfort and strengthen people during times of national distress. Barack Obama himself read this work on September 11th, 2005 with the Chicago Symphony Opera. Hank's voice boomed above the orchestra as he read the piece which is made up of quotes from letters and speeches of Lincoln as well as lines from original American folk songs.

There were also some all-star performances with teams of CGG's favorite performers: Sheryl Crow and will.i.am sang Bob Marley's "One Love," Stevie Wonder, Usher, and Shakira sang "Higher Ground," and Bono and the Edge preformed "In the Name of Love." The whole show was capped off with all of the performers accompanying Beyonce in "America the Beautiful."

All in all we think it was the perfect pump-up for a fantastic four years!

via Huffington Post