Black Eyed Peas raise $4 million with rain-soaked charity concert

The Black Eyed Peas helped to raise $4 million for charity on Friday (30Sep11) after playing through the rain to stage a special concert in New York's Central Park.

The I Gotta Feeling hitmakers were originally due to headline the free Concert 4 NYC in June (11), but thunderstorms forced the gig to be cancelled at the last minute for reasons of safety.

It was rescheduled for Friday night and the Peas honored the date by playing a hits-filled set for the 60,000 fans packed onto the Great Lawn, performing tracks like Imma Be, My Humps, Where Is The Love? and I Gotta Feeling.

The skies began to open up in the latter half of the concert, but the group refused to let the wet weather derail their second attempt to play the gig, which benefited the Robin Hood Foundation, a poverty relief organization in the Big Apple.

Singer Fergie insisted a little rain was not going to spoil her night after performing her solo singles Glamorous and Big Girls Don't Cry.

She told the crowd: "This is a dream. There's not many artists who have played Central Park.

"New York, we tried this once before but the lightning stopped us. But lightning don't strike twice!"

And frontman will.i.am was equally as defiant when the light shower gradually turned into a steady downpour. He declared: "The rain stopped us last time but it ain't gonna stop us this time!"

The group's big benefit show also featured early appearances by actors Jeremy Renner and Kristin Chenoweth, who both encouraged members of the audience to use their cell phones to text in their donations throughout the concert.