"We Are the World" - remake, with 100 NEW artists

[EPG]

Feb 12, 2010 23:52:58 GMT -5 🅳🅸🆂🅲🅾 said:

This is a big mess, but it's for a good cause. It's still better than that Stand Up To Breast Cancer one from a few years ago.

No it ain't. At least all the women actually had good or capable singing voices. Half of the people couldn't even sing in this damn remake.

[CookyMonzta]

Feb 2, 2010 2:03:05 GMT -5 Minor Scratch said:

This sounds like the biggest hot mess of all time.

Feb 2, 2010 2:09:51 GMT -5 CookyMonzta said:

I know this is probably going to rub some people the wrong way, but why do I think this smacks of a publicity ploy?

The last time this was done, I thought it was an obvious attempt to outdo Band-Aid's "Do They Know It's Christmas?" When the Brits recorded that, there was little doubt there was a genuine charitable purpose for that tune. They weren't looking to make history; they were looking to turn the average bloke's attention to the tragedy in Ethiopia. When the U.S. responded with "We Are The World", it struck me as more a response than being genuine. It got the public's attention in this country, but it still struck me as a response record.

Now, a remake. Why a remake? Surely someone could write something new that is worthy of its purpose, than to recycle what is already regarded as historic. We've already recycled and/or remade Halloween, Battlestar Galactica, etc., some for better, some for worse, but an overdose of remakes nonetheless, and it devalues the purpose.

I happen to think that, for the victims of the earthquake in Haiti, someone should have written a new song that could have been sung by this ensemble, a song that unquestionably fit the purpose, which is a bit different than the purpose represented by "We Are The World". Are the people, who decided that this was the right time to remake the song, genuinely interested in drawing more attention to the tragedy (and I must say that the whole world knows about it by now), or are they using the aftermath as an excuse to remake this song?

Feb 2, 2010 2:19:10 GMT -5 CookyMonzta said:

It is not lost on anyone that this is the 25th anniversary of the song, and needless to say, there was never a more opportunistic excuse to remake the song than what happened in Haiti.

Is this remake to call more attention to the tragedy, or is it to pay another tribute to Michael Jackson, who co-wrote the song with Lionel Richie? If it's to pay him another tribute, and perhaps to put Lionel back in the spotlight, I dare say that, even as endlessly charitable as Michael was, I don't think he would approve at all.

Q.E.D.

Feb 12, 2010 23:22:28 GMT -5 musicjunky318 said:

^There is no need for that list. This crap isn't going anywhere near #1.

Do not underestimate the gullibility of the average consumer. They'll eat this up as easily as they ate up a few other undeserving hits. Perhaps when word gets around as to how hastily this farce was arranged, and how it sounds compared to the 1985 original, it's popularity will fall off.

As I said before, they should have written a new song for the occasion. To use the Olympics to present the video, let alone Michael's death as an excuse to remake the song to begin with, makes it an even bigger farce. Michael would not be pleased.

[Deleted]

I like this version but of course I was a huge fan of the original too

[SWEET DREAMS]

I'm so mad they dragged Michael into this mess! They should've just made their sh*tty remake without grabbing footage of MJ. UGH! The whole thing is stank!

[B-Boy]

OMG @ the video. A mess as expected.

Mary Mary is in this? I'm surprised. They are one the biggest names in gospel at the moment.

Fergie, Pink, J. Hud, Celine sounded great. Nicole is still hanging in there.

Oh yeah, why the rap? I thought Will's & Kanye's adlibs were pretty decent. I don't see the problem with Akon. I'd prefer him over Wyclef. SMH @ T-Pain & Lil' Wayne.

[Adonis the DemiGod!]

Wow! I am shocked that this is #2 after a couple of hours.

[Francesa On The FAN]

Feb 12, 2010 10:57:15 GMT -5 PDC1987 said:

Feb 11, 2010 18:04:16 GMT -5 KeepDeanWeird said:

Right on the F-ing $$$. I hate the telethons, horrid songs (except for Do They Know It's Christmas), blah, blah, blah. Donate some of your own or better yet labor. Invest money in the country and infrastructure -- it's insulting to rely on average person.

The songs may always be crap, but they are for a good cause, and the celebs already have given obscene amounts of money.

I have not heard one obscene number yet given out by a celebrity. Sorry, 500 grand is not an obscene amount for someone worth 200 million. If you can find me someone who actually gave out an obscene amount, say $100 million of a $130 million fortune then I will give out the props. All I hear are celebrities and corporations writing checks for about what they can earn in interest in a typical bank savings account in a 3 month period. I earn about $7 in savings interest over 3 months. Does that sound obscene?

[Deleted]

The last remake of a #1 song to return to #1 was the 2001 version of Lady Marmalade,


This one being #2 after such a short time makes this a shoo-in for #1

[Adonis the DemiGod!]

This song has the potential to block BEP from getting their 3rd #1 single.

[musicjunky318]

I'm gonna be so pissed if this hits #1.

[Adonis the DemiGod!]

Feb 13, 2010 1:31:06 GMT -5 musicjunky318 said:

I'm gonna be so pissed if this hits #1.

It's not that serious and besides we know it's only going to be #1 for a week or two and then fall off the charts altogether.

[Adonis the DemiGod!]

This is #1 at Itunes now!

[musicjunky318]

It's one of the weakest remakes I've ever heard.

[musicjunky318]

From the moment I discovered Bieber got first dibs I knew it would throw everything off.

[Deleted]

Feb 13, 2010 1:38:13 GMT -5 Adonis the DemiGod! said:

Feb 13, 2010 1:31:06 GMT -5 musicjunky318 said:

I'm gonna be so pissed if this hits #1.

It's not that serious and besides we know it's only going to be #1 for a week or two and then fall off the charts altogether.

Yeah, unless radio plays it, it is not going to have a long chart run. But it looks like its impact will be swift and immediate


The original didn't have a very long chart run (compared to other songs of the day) either

[Deleted]

Chart run of the original

We Are The World - USA For Africa

21-5-2-1-1-1-1-2-8-14-24-29-44-68-75-81-92-100

18 weeks in total

[radicaltheory]

This is horrible, like a really bad joke.

[chopped89]

THANK GOD EMINEM WASN'T A PART OF THIS ONE!!

[fridayteenage]

So aside from Idol debut songs and songs that debuted at number one because they weren't eligible to chart despite already being hits on the radio, #1 debut songs should be A) Britney Spears & B) 100 different artists dividing credit.

[pnobelysk]

Feb 13, 2010 3:43:34 GMT -5 fridayteenage said:

So aside from Idol debut songs and songs that debuted at number one because they weren't eligible to chart despite already being hits on the radio, #1 debut songs should be A) Britney Spears & B) 100 different artists dividing credit.

i think taylor swift will pull it off with her leading single from her 3rd album

this might not make it to number 1. it depends how far ahead it ends up on itunes becuase this wont get a full sales week. just 3 days, fri, sat, and sunday. its fist full sales week will be next week but with its first 3 sales days not included it might not be able to hit number 1. we will just have to wait and see

[Rumors]

I haven't heard the song or watched the video yet but I just wanted to comment on all the negativity in this thread. The song is for a good cause. Give it a rest. If you don't like the remake, simply don't buy it.

[Deleted]

I for one like this version

Granted, not as good as the original but still not bad either

[musicrocks]

I agree with 2m. Not nearly as good but it's okay... It started off bad with Justin Bieber being first (no way that should of happened) then it was cool (Josh Groban, Celine Dion, Barbra Streisand, P!nk, Jennifer Hudson, Mary Mary).

Then around the 5 minute mark when Lil Wayne SANG Bob Dylan's part it started going down. Akon and T-Pain with auto-tune and the rap was just the worst. If the rap and autotune was out, I think it would have been fine.

[neverduplicated]

Feb 13, 2010 10:27:58 GMT -5 Rumors said:

I haven't heard the song or watched the video yet but I just wanted to comment on all the negativity in this thread. The song is for a good cause. Give it a rest. If you don't like the remake, simply don't buy it.

I'm sure many if not all of us are aware of and happy about the money this will raise for Haiti, but that doesn't mean we can't comment on the quality of the song itself. This is a music board, after all.

[Deleted]

Other people off this board apparently like it though

[Deleted]

Producer Details 'We Are The World 25' On Eve Of Debut
February 12, 2010 - Rock and Pop

By Ray Waddell, Nashville

"We Are the World - 25 for Haiti" will premiere in 3D on NBC prior to the opening ceremony of the Vancouver Winter Olympics. Spearheaded by Quincy Jones, producer, and Lionel Richie, co-writer, of the 1985 philanthropic anthem "We Are The World," "WOTW-25" was recorded on Feb. 1 in the same L.A. studio as the original 25 years earlier (Henson Recording Studios, formerly A&M Recording Studios). Jones and Richie served as executive producers and producers, in collaboration with executive producers Wyclef Jean, Randy Phillips and Peter Tortorici; producers Humberto Gattica and RedOne; and co-producers Rickey Minor, Mervyn Warren and Patti Austin.

Proceeds from the project will benefit the Haitian earthquake relief efforts and the rebuilding of Haiti. Downloads will be available on iTunes, and through a partnership with YouTube, the video will be viewable on the "We Are the World 25" YouTube Channel. Billboard spoke with Phillips, president/CEO of AEG Live, about the project and what viewers can expect.

Billboard: How did you come to be involved with "We Are The World-25?"

Randy Phillips: I came in because Lionel Richie, who I manage, asked me to. Originally a group of guys including (original WOTW producer) Ken Kragen … had an idea to re-cut "We Are the World" that was called Live 25. Lionel and Quincy were very lukewarm about it because they felt that what happened 25 years ago was iconic and they did everything they could for Africa at that time, and they didn't feel re-cutting the song really made any sense. Basically, Lionel didn't really want to do it, and we kind of let it die by not issuing the publishing license, because Lionel owns the copyright along with Michael Jackson's estate. That was in November/December. They had gotten Visa on board as an underwriter of that effort, and I think they were going to try and premier it at the World Cup.

Then Haiti happened and that pretty much changed everything. Quincy called Lionel and said, "this is what this song is written for, as a fundraising vehicle for causes, tragedies, catastrophes like this. Why don't we take over the process, call our friends, and actually do this?" And because Lionel understood the urgency of Haiti, he agreed to do it.

Talk about the talent booking process.

Tisha Fein had been on board for the original idea (to re-cut WOTW as Live 25), so Quincy kept Tisha as the talent booker, and she was already in contact with a ton of people. When you're doing these things, one person tells you an act's in, another person says they aren't, it's always a fluid thing until you get there. All of these things come together like that, much of it at the last minute. [Barbra] Streisand came in the day before. Of the list we went after, I'd say we ended up with 80% of the people we wanted.

It was a mad dash to pull it all together. When Lionel came to me, remember, there was Quincy and he had no infrastructure. So I met with key executives at AEG, they all volunteered to work on it, and then it was a 24/7 effort to work for gratis. Visa stayed in the deal even when it changed to Haiti because they felt so strongly about it, and picked up all of the hard costs and also provided millions of dollars in media.

What will be premiering right before the opening ceremonies of the Olympics is a 3:15 version of a 7:37 piece. NBC gave us the time, and Visa took the 30 seconds before for Lionel and Quincy to intro the piece, and that was a paid spot.

What about the longer version?

The seven-minute version will be broadcast worldwide simultaneously on Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. PST on networks all around the world, about 120 networks. The tagline is "download to donate." There will be options of audio for $1.29, video for $1.99, or both for $2.99. All of that money is going straight to Haiti, there will be very little admin costs off the top. All of this is going to a charity we just created, and then the board will determine how to get it in the hands of the people as fast and directly as possible.

Will there be a physical product?

Yes, we're talking to Target about handling the physical product, 10 days to two weeks after the digital release.

Any comment on the controversy surrounding the booking of this project, primarily reports that you said acts would be participating that had not committed?

The truth is I wasn't that involved in the booking, other than making a few phone calls to artists I was close to, like Jamie Foxx, who I've worked with in the past, and Justin Bieber, who I work with now as his tour promoter. This happens all the time when you're putting one of these multi-act charity benefits together, people are in, people are out, schedules change. When you're doing something as noble as this, why is there any controversy at all? People want to take shots, but what a thing to take a shot at. If you're going to take a shot at people who are doing this, or me personally, do it when I'm doing something to make money, not when I'm doing something for free to help a country where we have over 150,000 dead and God knows how many more maimed.

Can you tell me anything about the performances?

It opens with Justin Bieber doing the Lionel Richie line, then Jennifer Hudson and he harmonize, then it goes from a Jennifer Hudson solo to Jennifer Nettles. The way it works is a star will do a line, then harmonize with the next star. You have Jennifer with Josh Groban, then Mary J. Blige, then into Toni Braxton harmonizing with Mary. Then the chorus is Michael Jackson from the original version paired with Janet Jackson. After that, it's Barbra Streisand and Celine Dion singing together.

The rap section is staggering. One part was written by LL Kool J and Quincy and the other was written by Will I. Am and Kanye. It starts with LL and Snoop and Will and Xzibit and Kanye and Lil Wayne, then it goes into Will and Kanye trading lines with each other.

We're hoping that this not only raises significant amounts of money across the world, but that it also keeps the awareness of Haiti in the public eye. That was really one of the purposes of it, because a song like this will live on and on.

[Dammn Baby]

This is absolutely terrible. The only redeeming quality is that proceeds are benefitting Haiti. But, as a musical piece of work, let's ask ourselves:

1. Why does Justin Bieber lead in?
2. Why does Nicole Scherzinger get literally 50% of the screen time in the video? Why does she even get a solo?
3. The rap - wtf?
4. The vocoded section - wtf? Don't even include losers who can't sing - it's an insult to the original and to what Michael stood for.
5. Janet - why bother?

[Deleted]

lol

[Dammn Baby]

Feb 12, 2010 21:25:27 GMT -5 HolidayGuy said:

NBC didn't show the whole thing (I forget when it said it was showing the whole clip). It indeed is a super hot mess. The original was never a fantastic track, but it worked. This is just... oy.

I thought I could hear Janet's voice along with Michael's?

I haven't heard the remake of "Everybody Hurts"- just as bad as this? (an even tougher task, as "Everybody Hurts" actually was a pretty great track)

Yes, her voice is there, it's just mixed horribly with Michael's. There are major EQ problems with the track. Between all the ProTooling, vocoding and other finagling, I'm not surprised.

[Dammn Baby]

Feb 12, 2010 21:34:02 GMT -5 Adonis the DemiGod! said:

WATW is a s**tty song to begin with. They should've at least rewritten the lyrics or something. I just hate that this song is so bad and to top it off.... Janet is lipping on it just so it can get more publicity. She will leak "nothing" tonight and we won't hear s**t.

1. Janet's on the track because Katherine asked her to be on it.

2. She isn't lipping.