The musical extravaganza, which is part of the International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) awards events, celebrated 25 years of Rahman's journey this year. Unfazed by the Twitter backlash for performing more Tamil songs during his recent concert in the UK, Rahman took to the stage at the MetLife stadium along with Diljit Dosanjh, Benny Dayal, Javed Ali, Neeti Mohan, Jonita Gandhi and Haricharan Seshadri.
The Oscar-winning composer performed his Oscar-winning hit track "Jai Ho" as the lighting on the stage changed to orange, green and white. "I am thankful to you all for coming and supporting the concert... love you, " he said. Rahman, 40, took over the stage again later and mesmerised the audience with his hit numbers like "Nadaan Parindey", which he sang with Mohit Chauhan, "Dil Hai Chota Sa", "Agar Tum Saath Ho", "Bin Tere Kya Jeena" with Neeti and teamed up with Hariharan on stage to create magic with "Mere Paas Hai Tu".
"I thank him for being an inspiration. I am honoured to be here," Jonita said.
Punjabi star Diljit's songs "Ek Kudi" and "Patiala Peg" and Mika Singh's energetic performance brought the audience to their feet. "I am feeling very happy and proud that he (Rahman) called me here. Make some noise for Rahman sir. Love you all," Mika added.
Rahman, who recently composed the music for Sachin Tendulkar's biopic, asked the crowd, 'do you like cricket.. do you like Sachin?', before singing the title track of the film as the master blaster's photograph was displayed on the screen. He even performed his Tamil songs "Urvasi Urvasi", "Huma Huma' as actress Aditi Rao Hydari joined him on stage. After the concert, Rahman thanked the audience.
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