Here's to Diana!

Music giants pay tribute to people's princess

Friday, June 29th 2007, 5:37 AM

Princes William and Harry had just one request for their mother's favorite musician, Elton John, when he planned his appearance at her anniversary concert this weekend. They asked that he not perform the weepy "Candle in the Wind," the song he revealed at her funeral with new, and especially maudlin, lyrics.

After all, this is a concert meant to celebrate Diana's life, not commemorate her death, which occurred 10 years ago. You can see and hear the results on Sunday, when VH1 cablecasts all six hours of the show from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. The five-hour time difference from London (which hosts the concert) accounts for the early hour here. NBC will broadcast highlights of the event later on Sunday, from 9 to 11 p.m.
According to VH1 sources, the day will be divided into three segments of roughly 90 minutes each, with the middle bit a tad fatter. Twenty-minute breaks will fall between segments, but don't expect much downtime. The nonperformance sections will be crammed with lots of taped segments, toasting Diana's life and explaining her personal connections to some of the performers.

Here's a rundown of who's set to appear, as of now, with last-minute fiddling sure to come:

FIRST SEGMENT
A welcome from Princes William and Harry
Elton John (who closes the night as well)
Nelly
James Morrison
Lily Allen
The Feeling
Fergie
Duran Duran
The English National Ballet

SECOND SEGMENT
Status Quo
Joss Stone
Orson
Roger Hodgson of Supertramp
Tom Jones
Will Young
Natasha Bedingfield
Pharrell
Bryan Ferry
An Andrew Lloyd Webber blowout, featuring Donny Osmond, Andrea Bocelli and more.

THIRD SEGMENT
Rod Stewart
Kanye West
Diddy
Take That (possibly reuniting with Robbie Williams)
Elton John

Courtesy Daily News (NY)