Top 10 Surprisingly Incredible Live Music Duets

MsMojo

Music knows no boundaries! We're diving into the most unexpected and incredible live music collaborations that defied all odds. From rock legends to pop icons, these duets prove that when musical talents collide, magic happens.

Transcript

00:00It's not every day you get to sing with a queen.

00:04Welcome to Moots Mojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the live

00:08collaborations that really shouldn't have worked as well as they did.

00:12I ain't got a feeling that I'm alone.

00:17Number 10, Metallica and Lady Gaga, Moth Into Flame

00:22Who cares at all?

00:25Over the years, Gaga has delved into a lot of different genres.

00:31Heavy metal was not necessarily one we would have expected to see.

00:35But by the way she blended right in with the genre legends Metallica at the 2017 Grammys,

00:41we would have thought it was the style she felt most at home in.

00:50She gives a full-throated assist on this song, and Metallica lead vocalist James Hetfield

00:56looks genuinely happy to perform with her.

00:59What's more, her harmonies give the song's melodic, hard-driving choruses an extra boost.

01:07Unfortunately, on the night of, sound issues plagued the performance.

01:15Luckily, we have a pristine dress rehearsal to listen to.

01:19Number 9, Adele and Darius Rucker, Need You Now

01:30The 2010 CMT Artist of the Year gala was a celebration of country music crossing over

01:36into the pop charts.

01:37Saluting Lady A's ubiquitous hit, Need You Now, former Hootie and The Blowfish singer

01:43Darius Rucker joined Adele, who had already achieved acclaim for her debut album.

01:48They drove home the theme of the evening.

01:57As the band watched, the two delivered the song like it was their own.

02:01Rucker's gruff voice and Adele's soulful rasp brought new life to a song that was all over

02:06the radio.

02:07It's also a fun little snapshot of Adele's career just before she blew up with the release

02:12of 21.

02:19Number 8, Freddie Mercury and Monserrat Caballé, Barcelona

02:31A duet between the Queen frontman and an opera megastar might not seem like the no-brainer

02:37it turned out to be.

02:38Freddie Mercury was a longtime admirer of Spanish soprano Monserrat Caballé's work,

02:44and the two had met a few years before they ended up collaborating on a song for the 1992

02:49Olympics.

02:50But the first live performance of the song took place in 1987 when the duo wowed the

02:55crowds of Ibiza.

03:05It all suddenly made sense.

03:08Mercury's flexible range and Caballé's thrilling high notes are two sides of the same coin.

03:13The best part about it, though, is how clear it is they love singing together.

03:25Number 7, Cyndi Lauper and Patti LaBelle, Lady Marmalade, Time After Time

03:30At first listen, these two pop divas might sound like polar opposites.

03:41Cyndi Lauper was a high-pitched, high-energy pop sensation of the 80s.

03:45Patti LaBelle started in a 60s girl group and became an icon of soul and R&B with gospel

03:51inspirations.

04:01Harmonizing and vocalizing, their voices are a surprising fit.

04:05Layering over each other so naturally, it's like they've been singing together forever.

04:10The two legendary singers are actually friends in real life.

04:13LaBelle is even godmother to Lauper's son.

04:22Number 6, James Brown and Luciano Pavarotti, It's a Man's, Man's, Man's World

04:34Throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, famed vocalist Luciano Pavarotti performed a series

04:40of charity concerts featuring him and some of the biggest stars of popular music.

04:45The operatic tenor's soaring, technically precise talent was paired with artists as

04:49varied as Sheryl Crow, Grace Jones, Barry White, and Mariah Carey.

04:55But the most surprising duet, and the most transcendent, may have been with the King

04:59of Soul, James Brown.

05:08Pavarotti was the real surprise.

05:10He kept up with Brown and tailored his own pristine operatic style to assist on a soul

05:16classic.

05:23The two giants of their respective genres seem delighted to showcase their greatness

05:28together.

05:29Number 5, Annie Lennox and Hosier, Take Me to Church, I Put a Spell on You

05:34The Irish singer-songwriter and the former Eurythmics vocalist were both nominated at

05:44the 2015 Grammys, but their joint performance was the masterstroke no one saw coming.

05:50It was a fantastic and epic intergenerational crossover.

05:54Hosier and Annie Lennox performed a mash-up of their nominated work that completely stopped

05:59the show.

06:09Scintillating and powerful, the duet became an immediate sensation.

06:13Many declared it the best performance of the night, and that's a tall order when a show

06:18also includes appearances by Paul McCartney, Madonna, and Beyonce.

06:24Lennox was flabbergasted by the response on social media.

06:33Number 4, Beyonce and Eddie Vedder, Redemption Song

06:37A lot of unexpected pairings in pop music came about because of charity.

06:42There's nothing like a common cause to bring two very different artists together.

06:46Case in point, this performance from the 2015 Global Citizen Festival.

06:58Beyonce joined Pearl Jam lead singer Eddie Vedder for a stripped-down low-key duet of

07:03Bob Marley's protest track, Redemption Song.

07:06The performance is just the two of them sitting in front of microphones, pouring their hearts

07:12out.

07:19There were no pyrotechnics, no dancers, and no distractions.

07:23All that was on display was Vedder's raw vocal and Beyonce's angelic crooning, and they complemented

07:29each other beautifully.

07:39Number 3, Imagine Dragons and Kendrick Lamar, Mad City, Radioactive

07:49Lauded rapper Kendrick Lamar was nominated for seven awards at the 2014 Grammys.

07:54Rock group Imagine Dragons was nominated for two.

07:57Together they pooled their talents and presented two of their nominated works in one glorious

08:03mashup.

08:04Following Lamar's autobiographical Mad City and Imagine Dragons' hit Radioactive, the

08:10unlikely duet stole the entire night.

08:20The mashup was released as a single, which was credited with boosting album sales and

08:24streams for both artists.

08:26It was such a magical collaboration that they were invited to recreate their performance

08:31on Saturday Night Live the next week.

08:40Number 2, Eminem and Elton John, Stan

08:49The rapper behind the Slim Shady alter ego was at the height of his fame when he dropped

08:54Stan, a song about an obsessive fan that became a total culture shift.

08:59Eminem's aggressive and vulgar style was already at odds with the song's original collaborator,

09:04the angel-voiced Dido.

09:06But facing allegations of homophobia for his lyrics, Eminem surprised everyone with a duet

09:11with Elton John at the 2001 Grammy Awards.

09:23Two artists with very distinct styles, their pairing was somehow a pitch-perfect match.

09:29That chemistry carried over offstage as well.

09:32The two have remained friends for years.

09:39Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.

09:43Axl Rose and Elton John, Bohemian Rhapsody, genres clashed at the Freddie Mercury tribute

09:49concert.

09:59Britney Spears and Michael Jackson, the way you make me feel.

10:03The King and Princess of Pop's talents complemented each other well.

10:14David Bowie and Cher Medley, two pop icons just having a great time.

10:19Super casual.

10:27Rihanna and Jennifer Nettles, California king bed.

10:31Country met R&B on this ballad at the Academy of Country Music Awards.

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11:11On paper, it doesn't sound too surprising.

11:14You'd assume two artists who recorded the same song have a similar musical style.

11:18But that's not the case with Tracy Chapman and Luke Combs.

11:21Chapman is a folk, R&B, and soul artist with many years of experience in different genres,

11:27while Combs was an up-and-coming country star exploding onto the charts with his cover of

11:32her song.

11:40If the cover's success didn't already prove it, their performance at the Grammys is a

11:45testament to how the right song transcends genre.

11:48The two seamlessly blend their own styles in this touching performance of Chapman's

11:53timeless folk rock ballad.

12:03What's a surprisingly good live duet that you'll never forget?

12:07Tell us in the comments!

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