Smokey Robinson & Halle Bailey Hosts Motown Christmas Special

Motown is one of the crown jewels of Detroit and Michigan as a whole. Many music heads and musicians have a lot of respect for the legacy of Motown Records. Motown has produced some of the greatest hits and artists the music industry has ever seen. That's why Detroit has created the Motown Museum to showcase the achievements of the record label.

Berry Gordy created Motown Records to help black artists who struggled to get their music on the radio and in front of the public. His objective was to help them succeed by creating a label full of the best talent to showcase to the world and earn radio play. This plan would not only work but would turn out to be fruitful for years, which leads us to where we are.

Halle Bailey and Smokey Robinson will be bringing together the old and new school vibes of Motown for A Christmas Special. The special will include solo, duet, and group performances from both legends and current artists who have been signed or influenced by Motown Records. The special aired live on NBC on December 11th and can now be streamed on Peacock for a limited time.

Performances were made by the following artists and groups:

Smokey Robinson
Halle Bailey
Gladys Knight
Andra Day
The Temptations
Jamie Foxx
Ashanti
BeBe Winans
JoJo
Martha Reeves
The Vandellas
Jordin Sparks,
Machine Gun Kelly
October London
Pentatonix

Over 25 of Motown's greatest hits were performed throughout the night including fan favorites like ABC, Ain't No Mountain High Enough, My Girl, I Heard It Through The Grapevine, and more. The live band that performed the pieces during the show was 11 pieces large and was directed by Emmy Award Winner Rickey Minor.