Yahoo! rolled out the purple carpet at the Hollywood Bowl for celebrities, the former first family,  and thousands of fans to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the William J. Clinton Foundation. As the exclusive online sponsor of the Decade of Difference concert, Yahoo! turned the October 15 event into a complete digital experience that went viral worldwide. Our Decade of Difference microsite, launched in mid-September, received more than 200 million page views and a link to the concert webcast was retweeted over 8,000 times, earning a spot on Twitter’s “Top Tweets” list. During the event, video traffic peaked at 100,000 simultaneous live streams.

(For anyone who missed the show, you can still watch the concert in its entirety on The Decade blog.)

As a Yahoo! employee, I was lucky enough to attend the concert and watch the diverse group of legendary musicians perform live. From Motown to modern rock, Decade of Difference covered a variety of musical bases, mirroring the depth and breadth of the Clinton Foundation. Even the celebrity appearances spanned the full spectrum. A slew of stars, including Geena Davis and Ashton Kutcher, highlighted some of the programs made possible by the Clinton Foundation. Actors such as Ben Stiller, Sean Penn, and Kevin Spacey paid homage to the former President in a Funny or Die original video. Jack Black’s Clinton Foundation theme song is still stuck in my head.

In an attempt to sum up the night a succinctly as possible, I’ve narrowed it down to my top five musical moments from the Decade of Difference event:

KENNY CHESNEY
Sadly, I missed Stevie Wonder’s surprise appearance but made it to my seat just in time to see Kenny Chesney perform. After living in Nashville for six years, I developed an appreciation for country music, and Chesney’s laidback Key West sound was undeniably contagious. As a special surprise, he brought out talented folk-rocker Grace Potter to perform their hit duet, “You and Tequila.”

K’NAAN
The next artist started off his set with a surprise guest as well. Bono grabbed a mic and jumped on stage with Somali hip-hop star K’naan for his first song. Though I’d never heard of K’naan before, his set was unforgettable, musically and emotionally. Before launching into his biggest hit, the 2010 World Cup anthem “Wavin’ Flag,” he paused to personally thank Clinton for his peacekeeping efforts in Somalia and the work that the Clinton Foundation continues to do in East Africa. “There is something ultimately beautiful about the way that life takes you, in the manner that only art can encapsulate,” said K’naan. “To have been that boy coming out of Somalia in that desperate time, and for the President and I to become friends decades later… it’s a privilege for me to be here, and I thank you very much.”

USHER
Usher’s rousing rendition of “With A Little Help From My Friends” was one of the best performances of the night. The man has a serious set of pipes, backed by some serious dance moves to boot. Of course, Usher also scored the best wardrobe malfunction of the night, finishing his dynamite set despite almost ripping his pants in half.

BONO AND THE EDGE
After an inspiring speech from Clinton himself, Bono and the Edge closed the concert with a heartfelt acoustic set featuring favorites such as “Sunday Bloody Sunday” and “Where the Streets Have No Name.” At one point, the entire audience held up their complimentary Yahoo! flashlights in lieu of traditional Bic lighters. Hundreds of little lights blanketed the Bowl—which looked pretty awesome. Kudos to the event marketers who came up with that giveaway.

LADY GAGA
Apparently everyone—even the former leader of the free world—has a bit of Little Monster in them. Lady GaGa had the entire Hollywood Bowl on their feet, hands up in the air, singing at the top of their lungs. Fully embracing her “Marilyn moment,” Gaga writhed on the catwalk mere inches from the Clinton clan, while singing a heavily tweaked version of “Bad Romance.” She even put a Bill and Hillary twist on her latest hit “You and I” to end her set.

It was an impressively star-studded night of music. But one of my favorite moments came during Clinton’s speech. Our group was seated in a section with lots of other Yahoos, and when the former president thanked Yahoo! for our contributions to the special event, we all started cheering so loudly that you’d think Lady GaGa had snuck back on stage for an encore. The purple pride was palpable. And we weren’t alone. Yahoo! did more than just honor and support a worthy cause—we shared this incredible and inspiring celebration with millions of people in 180 countries around the world through our exclusive Decade of Difference live webcast experience. And that is certainly something worth cheering about.

- Julie Neumann

For more on the Clinton Foundation concert, check out the Decade blog or browse through a Flickr gallery of concert-goer photos.
Photo credit: © 2011 GW1982 in Flickr