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Every year around Grammy time, one of the hottest parties in L.A. is the Black Eyed Peas' Peapod, a benefit for the group's Peapod Foundation. Past performers include the likes of James Brown, Justin Timberlake and many others. This year wasn't short on talent, with Ne-Yo, Common, John Legend, Lil Jon, Natasha Bedingfield, Slash, and Snoop Dogg all making appearances.
"When you get a bunch of creative people in one room nothing could happen but magic," Ne-Yo told AOL Music.
Sure enough, one of last night's biggest pops came for an unannounced surprise appearance by Boyz II Men, who enjoyed love for 'Motownphilly' and the smash ballad 'End of the Road.' Even they seemed surprised by the response, commenting, "It's an honor to get this kind of love."
The love was shared all around though, with a ton of special duets eliciting crowd approval. Will.I.Am and Lil Jon teamed for a raucous 'Get Low,' while Fergie and Legend recreated 'Finally,' the ballad that ends her album, 'The Duchess.' Will, a ubiquitous host, teamed with Ne-Yo for 'Because of You,' and of course the Peas, who he introduced as "my best friends," for 'Don't Funk With my Heart' and 'My Humps.'
Among the charities the Peapod Foundation benefits is the Peapod Academy, a music school the band created in Watts, California, earlier this year. "Going to Watts and cutting the green tape when it was the first day of school -- seeing the classes and meeting the teachers -- that's awesome to see that," Will said. "And when you see the music or the movies or whatever it is that comes out of that and it's all over the Internet -- that's when my heart's going to melt. It's melting now but that's when it just bubbles over."