Music Stars Support Hurricane Relief on 'Hand in Hand' Telethon

(Radio.com) On Tuesday, scores of high-profile entertainers joined forces for the telethon Hand in Hand: A Benefit for Hurricane Relief. The multi-network broadcast included music stars like Beyonce, Justin Timberlake, Drake, Selena Gomez, Justin Bieber, DJ Khaled and more.

Proceeds will go to the Rebuild Texas Fund, ASPCA, Best Friends, Direct Relief, Feeding Florida, Feeding Texas, Habitat for Humanity, Save the Children and United Way.

The telecast was conceived as a response to Hurricane Harvey's destruction, though funds will also assist survivors of Hurricane Irma when the need is evaluated. In his opening remarks, Leonardo DiCaprio promised to "lift the survivors out of the darkness" with inspirational entertainment and financial assistance.

The show kicked off with a rousing performance of "Lean on Me" by Stevie Wonder, backed by a gospel choir. In his introduction, Wonder gave a powerful speech with a social and environmental message. As cameras panned throughout the studio, celebrities like Cher and Robert DeNiro could be seen working the telethon phones.

"When love goes into action it preferences no color of skin, no ethnicity, no sexual preference or political persuasion--it just loves�Anyone who believes there's no such thing as global warming must be blind or unintelligent," the sight-impaired living legend said.

The second performance of the night came from Usher and Blake Shelton, who performed "Stand by Me" in perfect harmony. Afterwards, Beyonce appeared via video message to issue a call to action.

"National disasters don't discriminate," said the Houston native. "They don't see if you're an immigrant, black or white, Jewish or Muslim�Seeing everyone of different social, racial and religious backgrounds�restored my faith in humanity." Read more here.