“We are the world. We are the children. We are the ones who make a brighter day, so let’s start giving. There’s a choice we’re making, we’re saving our own lives. It’s true, we’ll make a better day, just you and me.”
The chorus of the song “We Are the World” is powerful and perhaps the reason why the song was the fastest selling pop single of the ‘80s. Written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie in 1985, it helped raise $63 million to benefit African famine relief. Recently, the group Artists for Haiti re-released the song with a few changes in lyrics and beat to raise money for the Haitian earthquake victims.
As someone who has been involved in music for the past eight years, I think I have enough qualification to say that this remake of “We Are the World” lacks the charm, sophistication, and enthusiasm the original version has.
The United Support of Artists (USA) for Africa recorded the original version. This group comprised of many well-known and still well respected artists. In 1985, each artist added his or her own individuality to the song without being egotistical.
Some of the 1985 soloists included Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, Billy Joel, Lionel Richie, Diana Ross, Ray Charles, Cyndi Lauper, Bruce Springsteen, Al Jarreau, Kenny Rogers, and Tina Turner.
These artists changed music and brought something special to the song. Springsteen added a hardcore rock sound while Ross’s fresh voice supplemented the lyrics well. Charles and Wonder’s spirit helped add some soul to “We Are the World.” Lauper added a twist to the melody with her punk sound. And Jackson’s refined voice brought soul to his usual pop-funk feel in the song, as well as his perfectionist attitude. The solos added to each other, and they were nicely juxtaposed.
On the door of the recording studio in 1985, someone hung a sign that said, “Please check your egos at the door.” These artists were able to put away their egos for the recording sessions. The result? Astounding vocal quality, full of sophistication and charm, and warm chords.
I think these artists sounded truly awe-inspiring because they cared. Emotion poured from their words.
Some of the artists who sang “We Are the World: 25 for Haiti” performed very well. Celine Dion sang her solo with great amounts of feeling, as did Jennifer Hudson, Josh Groban, and Mary J. Blige. And, obviously, the old recording of Michael Jackson, which was included in the remake, brought lots of soul to the remake.
The solos of Blige, Dion, Groban, and Hudson were simply amazing because of their obvious emotion, both heard in the song and seen in the music video.
In the new music video, the original clips of Jackson were included. This was a satisfactory tribute to the late Jackson. His sister Janet Jackson sang “with” him during his rendition of the first chorus, which would have been a touching addition if people could hear her.
The other celebrities in the 2010 version performed average or less than average, because they just did not seem to care about the cause they were singing for.
In an effort to reach a new, younger audience, Miley Cyrus and the Jonas Brothers (with Nick Jonas singing a solo) were included in this new rendition. This was a mistake, in my opinion, as they didn’t bring anything special to the table. Did they have something else on their minds? If that’s the case, I guess they couldn’t leave their own worries behind and record to help people that have more troubles than the celebrities do, since, you know, the Haitians lived through a devastating earthquake. I give Bieber, Cyrus, and the Jonas Brothers some credit for trying, but I think the song would have been better if they had poured emotion into the words, rather than just singing the lyrics.
And Fergie’s random shout-out in the middle of the chorus – “Come on, lemme hear ya!” – seemed unnecessary. It just made me cringe. It seemed to break up the song. She is no Ray Charles, no matter what people tell her. It seemed that she couldn’t let go of her star status, and her unwanted two cents messed up the vocals.
Musically, several changes were made to the song to make it sound more “modern.” The beat was changed to one that you hear on the radio every day. Well, “We Are the World” is not an every day song. It is supposed to sound different. That’s what makes it so great.
The artists also made it sound more “modern” by adding a rap in the middle of the song. Please excuse me while I go vomit. Really, people? A rap in “We Are the World” is not okay. Random famous people rapping with their computerized voices is not my idea of a good addition to “We Are the World.” The rappers’ contribution was overall the worst addition to the new version, musically.
Today, most artists, except for the fair few, cannot put away their egos; it is an accepted part of society that everything revolves around them. Without their egos, their personalities we have come to “know” cease to exist.
More music to benefit charity is truly wonderful, but Hollywood, please, next time, do “check your egos by the door.”