Alicia Keys continues to raise money for Keep a Child Alive at 8th annual Black Ball event

NEW YORK — Alicia Keys performed hit songs, covers and collaborated with Usher and will.i.am at her charity’s annual event, but the singer also played the role of a charmer.

During an auction to raise money for Keep a Child Alive, Keys took off two 18-carat gold bracelets and put them up for bid. Once someone agreed to buy the items for $14,000, a light bulb seemed to switch in her brain.

“Wait a minute, I have an idea. I was just thinking, since I have two that we could sell one to you for $14,000, and one to you for $14,000,” she said, pointing at two different people. “Isn’t that a great idea?”
The crowd cheered her on.

“This is very special table by the way,” she said. “These are my friends. Friends love friends.”
Her charm and talent helped the singer raise $401,500 through auctions at her Black Ball event, which celebrates Keep a Child Alive, her 8-year-old organization aiding HIV/AIDS victims in Africa and India.
A dinner party with Edward Norton and Naomi Watts went for $25,000 and a trip to Paris Fashion Week to see shows by Givenchy sold for $15,000. The top bid was a lifetime membership to all Donald Trump golf properties, selling at $180,000.

Keys was joined onstage by Usher, Richie Sambora, Norah Jones, Gary Clark, Jr., and others at the event Thursday night at New York’s Hammerstein Ballroom. She closed the night with Black Eyed Peas’ leader will.i.am, singing Fergie’s verse on the hit “I Gotta Feeling,” which had Keys’ mom and younger brother dancing happily onstage.