mashable.com
Facebook is continuing its efforts to bring exclusive content from celebrities onto its platform.
The social network announced on Thursday that it secured British singer and songwriter Jessie J for its upcoming Facebook Live event slated for Sept. 26. The British star is scheduled to perform and answer questions at Facebook’s UK office next week, just a few days after the release of her new album “Alive,” which launches on Monday. She will perform an acoustic version of one of the songs from the album.
This will be the company’s first UK-based Facebook Live event, and the first time a Live event will include a musical performance.
Over the past few months, Facebook has been focused on bringing more celebrities onto the platform to make announcements and engage with its fans. Jay Z released the new music video for his “Holy Grail” exclusively on Facebook last month. Singer Fergie and her husband actor Josh Duhamel recently released the first photos of their new baby on Facebook, too.
Jessie J has a large social media following — more than 13 million Likes on her Facebook fan page and 6.5 million followers on Twitter.
“We’re really building out the [partnerships] program to be that one-stop shop for Jessie and public figures to come by and really engage with them on a different level,” said Glenn Miller, Facebook’s entertainment partnerships lead in Europe.
Last month, Facebook confirmed that the company is working on a VIP-only app to make it easier for celebs to engage with fans, although details — what it would look like, who could use it — remain unclear. Facebook’s biggest competition for capturing conversations around live events is Twitter, where celebs and athletes have long utilized certain hashtags to share exclusive content with fans. Google is also getting in on the action with exclusive Google+ hangouts.
Facebook has not yet announced who will interview Jessie J. The last Facebook Live event featured a trio of celebrities, including actor Andy Samberg, director J.J. Abrams and actor George Takei.
Jessie J won’t be the first musician to appear on stage, however. Rihanna and Carly Rae Jepsen have also graced Facebook Live events, but only for interviews — not performances.
