![Taylor Swift Debuts Sad Song at First Social 'Stand Up to Cancer' [VIDEO]](https://helios-i.mashable.com/imagery/archives/05eMa3EK1RFwKHbc3MHUPAm/hero-image.fill.size_1248x702.v1647021358.jpg)
One night after giving a peppy performance at the MTV Video Music Awards, singer-songwriter Taylor Swift dialed it back Friday night during Stand Up to Cancer with an emotional song about a boy who died of cancer.
Swift debuted "Ronan," a tune co-written with the 3-year-old cancer victim's mom, at the charity event. The song is available on iTunes and proceeds will be used for cancer research.
In its third year, the star-studded Stand Up to Cancer televised special for the first time relied heavily on social media to attract viewers and donations. As usual, the event also took donations via phone or online.
Viewers using Twitter and hashtags #SU2C or #IStandUpFor were told celebrities would retweet some of their messages and the broadcast would air a few, too. For example, TV journalist Katie Couric retweeted this:
!RT @twinsrun Great message @katiecouric! Running in our undies at @undy5000 2morrow 2 fight #coloncancer! #istandupfor grieving families!— Katie Couric (@katiecouric) September 8, 2012
On Facebook, viewers video-chatted with stars through recorded conversations that they shared on their Timelines.
"The idea for the show this year, to make it different, is to put a new spin on a phone bank," Jules DiBiase, director of digital media for Stand Up to Cancer, told Mashable before the broadcast.
Alicia Keys, Tim McGraw and Coldplay (watch below) also performed.
Social Good Summit Information
The Social Good Summit is where big ideas meet new media to create innovative solutions. Held during UN Week, the Social Good Summit unites a dynamic community of global leaders to discuss a big idea: the power of innovative thinking and technology to solve our greatest challenges.
Date: Saturday, Sept. 22, 2012, through Monday, Sept. 24, 2012
Time: 1:00-5:00 p.m. and 7:00 - 9:00 p.m. each day
Location: 92nd Street Y, 1395 Lexington Ave., New York, NY
Tickets: $130 for a three-day pass.
Press: Press credentials will be given to press and bloggers from around the world for all Social Good Summit sessions and the Digital Media Lounge (DML). The DML is a fully wired work space at 92Y to report out of, network with fellow members of the media, and self-organize interviews and exclusive content from Social Good Summit sessions. The DML will be open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Sept. 22-24. To apply, please fill in the form here.
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