Jessica Sanchez Talks New Sia Collaboration, Jennifer Hudson Performs At Pinoy Benefit: Exclusive

Robbie Daw | March 12, 2014 12:12 pm

Jennifer Hudson, A Great Big World, Charice and Jessica Sanchez were just some of the stars who sang their hearts out at the Pinoy Relief Benefit on Tuesday night (March 11). With New York’s Theater at Madison Square Garden as their stage, these artists, along with Penatonix and Plain White T’s, performed past hits as well as a few new songs to raise money for the Pinoy Relief, an initiative helping the victims of Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines.

A Great Big World kicked off the show with their hit “Say Something” (sans Christina Aguilera) and paid homage to New York with their ballad, “Already Home.” Meanwhile, Jessica Sanchez, who’s been working on her follow-up to 2013’s Me, You & the Music, opted for covers. Although she’s still in the early stages of album-making process, Sanchez revealed that she’s been steadily working on writing her songs for her sophomore LP.

“I never really wrote in my life,” she tells Idolator. “But I’m really just trying to put my whole self in this album and be completely from me and just share my story. But we’re working really hard and making sure that this is to the T — perfect.”

And while we’re used to hearing her belt out on ballads and cite singers like Etta James, Beyonce and Aretha Franklin as her influences, Sanchez surprisingly revealed how much she loves EDM, and said she recently recorded a track called “Star-Spangled Love” that we can all dance to.

“I actually recorded an EDM song with Stargate,” she explains. “It was written by Sia, and it was such an incredible song. I really wish I could sing it for [everyone] or play it. [sigh] I love it!”

Sanchez isn’t sure when the song will be released, but with a title like that, might we suggest this July?

In the meantime, Jessica performed Zedd and Foxes‘ “Clarity” at the Pinoy benefit show, and also took the opportunity to cover the Oscar-winning song “Let It Go” from Frozen. And since the composers of the track, Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez, were on hand to help host the event, audiences were treated to not only Jessica’s powerful vocals on the song, but Robert on the piano playing it.

The bone-chilling performances didn’t stop there. Jennifer Hudson, the night’s special guest, brought a jazz club feel to the theater and tore up the stage with “Why Is It So Hard,” “Bleed For Love,” “I Can’t Describe (The Way I Feel)” and a medley of “And I’m Telling You I’m Not Going” and Whitney Houston‘s “Saving All My Love.”

The night was capped by Charice, who kicked off her set with “At Last,” before launching into a mashup of her 2010 single, “Pyramid” and Jay Z and Beyonce’s “Crazy In Love.” The singer ended things on a high energy note with her 2011 track “Louder.”

Proceeds from the show went to the Pinoy Relief Initiative. For more information on the organization, visit pinoyrelief.com.

Get an eyeful of even more pop music coverage, from artist interviews to exclusive performances, on Idolator’s YouTube channel.