The all-star twenty-fifth anniversary cover of “We Are the World” just debuted on NBC as part of the opening ceremony for the 2010 Winter Olympics Read the full post.
Feb 12
2010
09:13 PM ET
'We Are the World' remake for Haiti debuts during Olympics opening ceremony: What did you think?
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And Kanye West? Yeah, he’s not too polarizing.
Kanye didn’t belong there, he’s such a jerk, how can he really shill to help people since he puts people off? And honestly, is he a singer, or rapper, or what, I don’t know his music, just his reputation.
Eh, nearly every celeb under the age of 40 there is polarizing to some extent. How bout we focus on the music? Which was so-so at best.
oh gosh. why start with annoying little justin beiber? and apparently they gave miley a solo too (though it wasn’t shown in this clip)??? why why why
Because Usher is trying to sell him. That’s all this is really for. Oh, sorry, let me my comment so that you can understand it.
I had the word “autotune” there…
oh maybe they did show miley’s solo in this… I just watched the 3 minute clip they showed on TV…
There’s probably no other man in Hollywood less able to convince me to be charitable than super egomaniac Jamie Foxx. And did he sing a line “doing Ray Charles”?? WTF????
The Brits have done it again. Just like when Bob Geldolf’s simple, straight-forward and highly effective “Do They Know It’s Christmas” trumped the first overstuffed “We Are The World”, Simon Cowell’s all-star recording of REM’s “Everybody Hurts” trumps this overproduced remake. Why can’t Americans ever do things nice and easy?
Sorry, no one knows what “Do They Know It’s Christmas” is
No one? You don’t know it so you think that no one knows it? How very egotistical of you.
Cmon, how can you forget the name “Band-Aid”!
Sorry, Ryan. Lots of people know it.
Ryan: You’re either very young, or very ignorant. Most people who were alive in 1984 know “Band Aid” and “Do They Know It’s Christmas.”
Get your head from out between your buttocks and learn something about what was going on in the world before you were born.
Seriously, Ryan? You don’t know DO THEY KNOW IT’S CHRISTMAS??
Dude, they play that song EVERY freakin’ Christmas.
I do- you don’t know that song?
“Feed the World…Do they know it’s X-mas time at all…Feed the World”
Actually “Feed the world. Let them know it’s Christmastime.”
because here in america people have bad taste in music. they like the auto tune rap crap. The simon cowell version is way better. and actually has some rock.
The only redeeming quality of this is that the money raised goes to a good cause. Other than that, this remake is complete garbage. When the rapping started I had to stop listening. What a horrible mess.
Quincy a music great in his own
right, however…….he does not have the ear Michael Jackson had to coordinate the singers’ voices for a harmonious and unforgettable song of this magnitude. I will buy for Haiti & MJ and put this away…Forever.
Good thing they didn’t give the Jobros a solo!!! btw, who was that woman who kept appearing? I think she first appeared next to Jennifer Hudson right after unfortunate little Bieber.
I think that was Nicole from the Pussycat Dolls…I’m not sure as well why she got so much air time.
Looked like a Kardashian, but couldn’t be.
Yeah, the Kardashian’s don’t sing… then again, neither does a bunch of people who were there… but anyway, yeah it wasn’t one of the Kardashian sisters.
It’s the main singer of the pussy cat dolls…Nicole something…
it was nicole scherzinger – she’s a pussycat doll.
that’s nicole scherzinger of pussy cat dolls…yeah, she kinda looks like a kardashian…. and she did have a lot of exposure..
it was nicole however you spell her last name not a “Kardassian”
Nicole Schertzinger – lead for the Pussycat Dolls
her name is nicole something or another…from the pussycat dolls
She was a Pussycat Doll or some crap band like that.
Nicole Scherzinger or whatever…the girl from the pussycat dolls i think….
Nick soloed in the clip.
Not knowing MJ personally, I think he would have very moved by the humanitarian effort. I also think the people of Haiti will appreciate the help. I do not like this auto tune thing but the diversity in singers was very impressive (country gospel, hip hop, pop, r&b, rap etc.) I love this song. The words are a phenomenal testament to what humans can accomplish on behalf of others…some people are not ready for that. I’ll buy it. Best part: MJ, and Jennifer Hudson.
The diversity? Have you read the list?
Yes..
You’ve got to be kidding…Michael never released anything until it sounded ‘perfect’, he would be horrified to hear his song ruined. It is a horrible mess.
He would have appreciated the effort (I think). I did not realize you knew MJ so well. My bad…
Jean never implied she knew MJ personally. All she tried to convey was the fact that MJ was obsessed with a perfect finished product (as is eminently evident in “This Is It”) and would’ve been horrified by the chaotic mess and the inclusion of Auto Tune in this version. It was beyond terrible.
yeah I really don’t think he would be impressed either…but there were some parts I liked tho!
People I never said he would have liked the arrangement. I said “He would have been impressed with the humanitarian effort”
I understand that MJ was a perfectionist but have you listened to the extra songs on the Thriller 25th anniversary album? Fergie and some others are covering some of Michael’s iconic tunes and they fall flat in comparison to the originals. Michael bought off on these cover versions for the anniversary release and I never understood why.
Thank you for all the responses. I posted this as a social experiment for my students. I am an MJ fan so I chose this headine. The task was for me to post a semi neutral comment and watch it be taken out of context and blasted by faceless human beings. We are examining how blogging and “commenting” has taken insulting and critiquing to a whole new level because there is no accountability. When I was younger we would call our best friends and complain and discuss and then go on with life….times have changed for many. Thank you for helping me prove a point for my students (not that it is that hard to prove) My husband and I do wonder, where do people find the time:) My next task for the experiement is a political news cite. Have fun spewing…For the record the way the song was all put together was just wierd. Although I am still a sucker for people coming together for a good cause…Call your best friend!
“Students“? You’re a teacher and you can’t spell “site” or “weird”?
Award winning teacher at that. Sometimes and I tell kids this often…I make mistakes. I also forgot the “l” in headline…my bad. Again, thanks for your help…this just keeps getting better…I can’t stay away:) Are we still talking about “we are the world”?
diversity? what diversity girl??? it was all hip hop! name one rock or country artist on there??? dont say pink. that is POP!
Why is Jamie Foxx everywhere? UGH he has no class. Plus he’s a jack of all trades, master of none.. stay away from music, Jamie.
Not to sound old, but the original had real, bona fide stars. Most of the singers had been around ten or twenty years, and even the newer ones (Cyndi Lauper, Huey Lewis) had amassed a string of hits. Opening with a kid who just had his first hit a few months ago, and is this year’s flavor of Marky Mark or Shaun Cassidy? I don’t think so.
Are you trying to tell me Plain Pat should have been there? (That’s a SNL character, right?)
(shouldn’t)
I am glad i’m not the only one that hated it…. JUSTIN BIEBER REALLLLLLLY????
omg that was terrible. i actually feel sick. i’m sorry. quincy jones is a great producer but that was just awful. apart from some fine stand-outs like pink, adam levine, mary j blige and jennifer hudson, what the auto-tune crap was the rest of that?
that woman next to Jhud was nicole scherzinger, she was recently a guest judge on the sing off…I was really looking forward to the new version, what a disappointment. Make the donation, stick with the original.
why people? Why do people have to spread comments like this. At least these people are doing something.
Why do think that this song should be above comment and criticism? And how do you know that the people who’ve commented on here are not doing something? My advice is to skip buying this crap and donate directly to charities like Partners in Health. You’d be doing a lot more good.
I don’t need a song to donate. But, apparently, Usher needs this song to promote his latest kid project.
yukoner2, what these people are doing is donating a little time, so that WE will donate our money. If they really wanted us to by the download or video, they should have taken enough care to make it good. Instead you have a huge group of people not caring about quality, but rather trying to get noticed. A slapped together piece of crap like this is an insult to the cause of Haiti. Unlike the telethon, where the stars quietly took phone calls, and most of the musical performances were excellent.
Personally, I have given as much as I can already. I hope that these people on the new WATW have done the same, and that this isn’t their only contribution.
I saw the video and it’s kind of disappointing. Where do I begin? If you’re going to have someone lead off the song, at least have a singer with a strong voice. Lionel Richie worked perfectly in 1985. That kid they used for this version was very, very weak. Not a good start. Thank God Jennifer Hudson came on soon after. SHE should’ve lead the song, not the tween kid. Seeing the old footage of Michael Jackson spliced in wth Janet today was very uncomfortable. This is why I refuse to see This Is It,; I want to appreciate MJ when the time is right and THis is simply not that time. The rappers were weak for the most part, the worst being the dude, Lil Wayne I believe, with the Auto-Tune. How bad is your rapping that you need Auto-Tune? Overall a disappointment.