A Look at We Are The World-25 For Haiti

Photo Credit: Photo courtesy of tula 7755 on flickr.com

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Written by Zach Ellman, Online Entertainment Editor

Last Friday wasn’t only a day for bringing together the nations of the world at the XXI Winter Olympics in Vancouver, but it was also a day where 87 artists and musicians came together. These 87 artists and musicians recorded their own modern day version of “We Are The World,” for the 25^th anniversary of the original recording and to help raise awareness for the ongoing efforts in Haiti. The original recording featured artists such as Michael Jackson, Dianna Ross, Tina Turner, Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel, Stevie Wonder, Ray Charles, Cyndi Lauper, and many others.

Since its original recording, which took place in 1985, the song has won three Grammy Awards and one People’s Choice Award. The song, which is a major contribution to The We Are The World Foundation, has raised more than $63 million, of which has mainly been donated to help regions of poverty in Africa, people that are in refuge, etc.

Artists such as Justin Bieber, Miley Cyrus, Jennifer Hudson, Jordan Sparks, American Idol Judge Randy Jackson, Celine Dion, Wycleaf Jean, Jamie Foxx, Kanye West, Fergie, Vince Vaughn, Snoop Dogg, Barbra Streisand, Jeff Bridges, Jason Mraz, will.i.am, and many many more contributed their voices when they first recorded the song on February 1^st, which was exactly the 25 year anniversary of the original recording. During the music video, a clip of Michael Jackson, who was one of the artists in the original recording, was shown singing his sister, Grammy Winning Singer Janet Jackson.

Lionel Richie and Quincy Jones, the creators of the original version of the song, decided to use today’s artists, while also incorporating some of other generations. Also, Academy Award Winning Director Paul Haggis was put on to direct the music video and to film a “behind-the-scenes type” video of the recording. The video aired on the opening ceremonies of the XXI Winter Olympics in Vancouver on Friday, where more than 30 million viewers saw the star-studded performance.