wow. go ARR On Tue, Feb 2, 2010 at 12:57 AM, Gopal Srinivasan <catchg...@gmail.com>wrote:
> > > Stars remake "We are the World" for Haiti victims > Tue Feb 2, 2010 8:43am GMT > > Email | > Print<http://uk.reuters.com/articlePrint?articleId=UKTRE6111GG20100202> > | > Share > | Single Page > [-] Text [+] > [image: Photo] > [image: «][image: »]1 of 2Full Size > > 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. > > > http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKTRE6111GG20100202?sp=true > >
