Stars remake "We are the World" for Haiti victims
Tue Feb 2, 2010 8:43am GMT
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By
<http://blogs.reuters.com/search/journalist.php?edition=uk&n=dean.goodman&;>Dean
Goodman<http://blogs.reuters.com/search/journalist.php?edition=uk&n=dean.goodman&;>
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Star-struck singers, rappers and actors, including
Barbra Streisand, Kanye West and Miley Cyrus, checked their egos at the door
on Monday to record a new version of "We are the World" for Haiti earthquake
victims, 25 years after the song raised awareness of the famine in Africa.
None of the singers of the original song were invited to participate in the
update, which was recorded at the same Hollywood studio once again under the
oversight of Quincy Jones and the song's co-writer Lionel Richie.
In all, more than 70 stars lent their voices to the song, and they all
seemed in awe of each other.
"As celebrities, we're fans of one another, so we're all looky-looing in
there, and getting autographs and numbers," said Natalie Cole.
Streisand, Celine Dion and Tony Bennett appeared to inspire the most stares.
Fifteen-year-old Canadian heartthrob Justin Bieber joked that he would ask
his new friend, R&B singer Akon, to get the telephone number of Nicole
Scherzinger of the Pussycat Dolls.
Streisand, a noted perfectionist, ran through multiple takes of the line
originally sung by Diana Ross, each one seemingly better than the previous
one. Jazz singer Patti Austin came into her recording booth to coach her.
Guitar virtuoso Carlos Santana sang along, even though he is not a singer.
Two members of the Beach Boys, Brian Wilson and Al Jardine, appeared to
ignore each other.
'INSPIRED CHAOS'
Classical crossover tenor Josh Groban described the event as "inspired
chaos."
"It's great to see so many legendary artists sweating it out. Everybody left
their ego at the door," he said, referring to a request made by Jones at the
original session in 1985.
"To be smack-dab in the middle of a sandwich between Barbra Streisand and
Weezy (rapper Lil Wayne) was personally a creative experience I don't think
I'll ever have the pleasure of having again," Groban added.
For his part, Lil Wayne said his mother asked him to get a photo of Gladys
Knight.
He was among a heavy quotient of hip-hop stars, including Snoop Dogg, Lil
Wayne, Drake, LL Cool J, and will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas as well as
West.
"Hip-hop is rock 'n' roll to a lot of people around the world, right now,"
said Jones, explaining the absence of the modern-day equivalents of original
performers Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan or Paul Simon.
Lil Wayne, for one, noted that he was not a singer, and thought organizers
were joking when they asked him to sing the line originally sung by Dylan.
Asked if he did a better job, Lil Wayne said, "Hell no!"
Country and Latino artists were notably under-represented. Organizers said
they were turned down for various reasons by some stars. In fact, most of
the big Grammy winners from the night before were absent, including Beyonce
and Jay-Z, who returned to New York, and Taylor Swift, who flew to Australia
straight after the ceremony.
Randy Phillips, one of the organizers, said his "one regret" was the absence
of dance-pop star Lady Gaga.
The song, which was still being worked on into the small hours of Tuesday,
will make its world premiere during NBC's coverage of the Vancouver Winter
Olympics on February 12.
Both the song and an accompanying video, shot by Oscar-winning "Crash"
director Paul Haggis, will go on sale both through traditional and online
retailers.
Phillips said all proceeds will go to a newly established foundation that
will carefully monitor disbursement.
The January 12 earthquake killed up to 200,000 people in Haiti and
devastated the already impoverished nation.
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