NEW YORK, Apr 15 — iHeartMedia Inc will launch the podcast Commencement: Speeches for the Class of 2020 on May 15 ahead of National Graduation Day on May 17.
John Legend, Halsey, Hillary Clinton, Jimmy Fallon and Eli Manning are among more than two dozen thought leaders that will share words of encouragement and resilience in the new podcast series.
Award-winning journalist Katie Couric, Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon, cosmetics giant Bobbi Brown, FIFA World Cup champion Abby Wambach and restaurateur and TV personality David Chang will also give commencement speeches for high-school and college graduates sheltering at home.
Also participating in the forthcoming Commencement: Speeches for the Class of 2020 are entertainers DJ Khaled, Tim McGraw, Pitbull and Khalid, as well as iHeartRadio personalities like Ryan Seacrest, Enrique Santos, Angie Martinez, Bobby Bones, Jake Brennan and Angela Yee.
The commencement speeches will be produced specifically for the limited podcast series through the iHeartPodcast Network.
Conal Byrne, President of the iHeartPodcast Network, said in a statement that the initiative is dedicated to high school and college seniors whose graduation ceremonies have been cancelled in reaction to the spread of the novel coronavirus in the United States.
“Speeches for the Class Of 2020' brings together some of the most experienced and inspiring people in the country today to celebrate the resilience, strength and accomplishments of this year's graduates. These are the speakers our graduates would have had at their real-world ceremonies if not for current circumstances, and we couldn't be more excited to bring them together through this podcast,” he added.
Aside from the limited podcast series, iHeart Media has announced a “virtual prom” on May 1 with Los Angeles radio station KIIS-FM for students deprived of the much-anticipated annual rite of passage.
The event will include DJ sets by the likes of Joe Jonas, Dillon Francis and Loud Luxury. — Afp-Relaxnews
