HBO Enlists Bono, Beyoncé, the Boss to Honor Obama

Artists among the star-studded lineup for HBO's "We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration at Lincoln Center," airing Jan. 18

This month, HBO stands for Honoring Barack Obama.

Bono, Bruce Springsteen, Beyoncé and Denzel Washington are among the very boldfaced headliners expected for the pay-cable network's Jan. 18 special We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial, one of the nearly 5,000 celebrations taking place across the U.S. leading up to Obama's swearing-in on Jan. 20.

Also confirmed for the smorgasbord of musical performances and historical readings are "Yes We Can" maestro Will.i.am, Usher, Mary J. Blige, Garth Brooks, Stevie Wonder, Shakira, John Legend, Sheryl Crow, Josh Groban, Jamie Foxx, John Mellencamp, Queen Latifah, Herbie Hancock, opera star Renée Fleming and Sugarland's Jennifer Nettles.

The Washington, D.C., show will be free and open to the public. (We suggest getting in line now.)

"Our intention is to root the event in history, celebrating the moments when our nation has united to face great challenges and prevail," said executive producer George Stevens Jr.

"We will have the statue of Abraham Lincoln looking down on our stage and a crowd of hundreds of thousands of people lining the mall—a tableau any director would relish," added director-producer Don Mischer.

Further showing just how down the network is with the people, HBO will televise the concert during a free-preview weekend, so it won't just be regular subscribers who get to watch the festivities.