Never has there been a moment where music and charity have come together quite like in 1985 when Lionel Richie and Michael Jackson joined forces to write the song “We Are the World.” Originally created to help raise money for famine relief in Africa, the Grammy award-winning song has become one of history’s legendary singles. Now, with the catastrophe that has occurred in Haiti, music icons and young singers have rallied together to remake “We Are the World.”
Conducted by Quincy Jones, this year’s version premiered at the beginning of the Winter Olympics in Vancouver. It featured over 36 soloists and a chorus of 80 — some not even professional singers, such as contributor Hayden Panettiere. In comparison to the classic, the new song is more avant-garde and has a more pop feel to it.
The original cast of soloists included the likes of Michael Jackson, Tina Turner, Diana Ross, Ray Charles and Billy Joel, as well as 17 other amazing singers. The song was seven minutes in length and incredibly moving. Released in a full-length album with a title of the same name and songs by Bruce Springsteen, Prince and Steve Perry of the band Journey, the song itself stayed number one on the Billboard charts for a whole month and raised $63 million.
The new single has potential to do the same, considering how hard the Haiti disaster struck everyone. When watching the music video, however, it’s clear how much the norms of music have changed.
The song is opened by teen sensation Justin Bieber, taking the original place of Lionel Richie. Finishing are Nicole Scherzinger (Pussycat Dolls), Josh Groban and Jennifer Hudson, whose powerful vibrato stands out the most among all other voices.
Some singers went straight for imitation, such as Jaime Foxx, who attempted Ray Charles’ sound. Without intending to, Miley Cyrus is reminiscent of a young Cyndi Lauper on the original track and R&B sensation Usher follows the part that was originally sung by Michael Jackson, whose voice is heard in many parts throughout the song.
In the music video, Janet Jackson’s part of the performance is placed next to a video of the original performance of Michael Jackson. That part, aside from images of Haiti, is perhaps the most startling and heartwarming.
In a surprising move, classic performers were included in the single, such as Celine Dion, Barbra Streisand and Tony Bennett. Dion was by far the best of the three, her voice combining surprisingly well with Fergie’s. Equally surprising is how three of today’s biggest female names in pop music were missing: Beyoncé, Lady Gaga and Taylor Swift. While the song is still full of icons and talented performers, it seemed odd that none of those three were included in this star-studded remake. Also missing from the performance is songstress Alicia Keys, who is known for her dedication to charity work and seemed like an obvious choice for the single.
Despite its flaws, the song is still a fresh and new spin on the classic. While Cyndi Lauper might have seemed like the wild card in the ‘80s version, the new single includes T-Pain and Lil Wayne, both singing with Auto-Tune, while Carlos Santana plays a guitar solo in the background. L.L. Cool J, Will.I.Am, Swizz Beats, Snoop Dogg and Kanye West interject to rap a brand new verse and inject a little bit of hip hop to the charity ballad. In a fitting performance, Wyclef Jean, a native of Haiti, sings in Haitian Creole throughout the song. It reminds the listener of the new objective for this version, to help those in Haiti.
If the original song is any indicator of its success, this new take on the classic is a surefire way to raise much-needed money for a country struck by catastrophe. And it’s certain that raising awareness never sounded so good.
You can reach this staff writer at ydesta@theeagleonline.com.
