The invitation, you suspect, came for two reasons, one of which must be their increasingly thrilling live shows, performing stadium-scale gigs in club settings, against a wall of Marshall amps, a giant American flag, smoke machines and brain-thumping strobes.
Lennon was a rock god, performing for stadium crowds, Ono an avant-garde pioneer, operating in the scene-iest of scenes.
U2 lead singer Bono is used to performing in stadiums holding tens of thousands of people.
From the first time he picked up a guitar at age eleven, he fantasized about performing in stadiums filled with screaming fans, like his idols Billie Joe Armstrong and Nikki Sixx.
In the same statement, guitarist and songwriter Keith Richards added, "We had a great time performing in stadiums last summer in the U.S. and are excited to come to Latin America for the first time in 10 years.
Some of us remember outdoor concerts years ago by members of the Philharmonic, performing as the Stadium Symphony, at Lewisohn Stadium of City College.
Well, I got to the end and I was breathing heavy, and I thought, 'Wow, I have new respect for MICK JAGGER and the cats that perform in stadiums all the time.' I had never played a stadium before and had no idea how much space you had to cover.
Three months later the duo, performing in a stadium packed with their fellow Canadians, captured the ice dancing gold medal at the Vancouver Olympic Winter Games.
Kanip, 27, an inventory clerk at a tribal gas station who makes $6.50 an hour, was asked what he thought about performing in a stadium that uses his tribe as a mascot.
Timberlake started out in a bunker somewhere deep below the stadium, performing his new single, "Filthy," to a crowd waving a crop of illuminated mobile devices in the air.
Williams, who is the event's creative director, did not reveal any details of who would be performing at the stadium shows, saying he was keeping surprises in store, but said: "Instead of just having people perform, we literally are going to have humanity harmonise all at once".
