The Baha Men, 98 Degrees, Usher, Jessica Simpson, and Outkast are among the artists who have signed on to perform at the Music with a Message: World AIDS Day 2000 benefit concert scheduled for New York City's Beacon Theater on November 21.

Pink and "TRL" host Carson Daly will host the event, which is being cosponsored by Levi's Jeans and LIFEbeat, the music industry's national non-profit HIV/AIDS awareness organization.

This event, I pray, will shed some light on the realities of this deadly disease, as it will afford me the opportunity to tell someone to be wise, be safe, and strap up," Usher said in a statement with regard to his participation in the event.

LIFEbeat spokesperson Sonya Lockett said that additional acts and performers are currently in talks to join the show's lineup and will likely be announced in the next few days.

As with the 1999 Music with a Message concert, which was also held in NYC and featured appearances from 'NSYNC,

Destiny's Child, Wyclef Jean, Monica and Joey McIntyre (see [article id="1428050"]"'NSYNC, Destiny's Child, Monica, Wyclef, McIntyre Go Online For World AIDS Day Benefit"[/article]), this year's show will serve as a fundraiser for LIFEbeat's youth HIV prevention programs.

According to Lockett, the 1999 World AIDS Day concert raised over $450,000 for local AIDS service groups and the organization's own Tour Outreach Program, which distributes HIV/AIDS information and pamphlets at various shows across the country.

An edited version of Music with a Message: World AIDS Day 2000 is tentatively set to air on MTV on December 1 in observance of World AIDS Day.

Tickets for the concert go on sale Friday, October 27 via all Ticketmaster locations and the Beacon Theater box office. For more information about the event and LIFEbeat's other programs, check out www.lifebeat.org.