Alicia Keys, Melissa Etheridge Celebrate Al Gore at Nobel Peace Prize Concert

Alicia Keys, KT Tunstall, Melissa Etheridge and Kylie Minogue were among the many musicians and actors on hand last night in Norway at the Nobel Peace Prize concert to honor former Vice President and environmental activist Al Gore. The evening was hosted by Kevin Spacey and Uma Thurman, who called Gore "sexy" and said the former VP "seems to be flourishing and following his calling. It's just the most enviable thing in the world." While the Norwegian Nobel Committee picked the night's performers, Gore was permitted to select one (he chose a rocker who's equally passionate about the environment: Etheridge).

The Peace Prize concerts began in 1994 and have grown exponentially ever since; this year's event was seen by more than 400 million people in 100 countries and will be broadcast in the U.S. on Fox's My TV network in January.

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Song Stories

“Smells Like Teen Spirit”

Nirvana | 1991

"Smells Like Teen Spirit," named after a brand of deodorant marketed to girls, was Kurt Cobain's attempt to "write the ultimate pop song," he said, using the soft-loud dynamic of his favorite band, the Pixies. Cobain "had that dichotomy of punk rage and alienation," the song’s producer, Butch Vig, told Rolling Stone, "but also this vulnerable pop sensibility. In 'Teen Spirit,' a lot of that vulnerability is in the tone of his voice." Sadly, by the time of Nirvana's last U.S. tour, in late '93, Cobain was tortured by the obligation to play "Teen Spirit" every night. "There are many other songs that I have written that are as good, if not better," he claimed.

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