We are the World 25

25 Years ago, Quincy Jones, Lionel Richie, and the late great Michael Jackson composed an emotional, heartwarming song entitled "We Are The World."
With their tremendously collaborative influence in the music industry, this powerhouse music trio brought together the biggest names in music into one studio, where they recorded this incredibly uplifting song. The profits of the recording went to help victims of starvation and povery in Africa. The recording included, among others, the likes of: Billy Joel, Tina Turner, Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, Ray Charles, Stevie Wonder, Paul Simon, Diana Ross, Huey Lewis, Janet and Michael Jackson, Steve Perry, Daryl Hall and John Oates, Kenny Loggins, Lionel Richie, Cindy Lauper, Kenny Rogers, Willie Nelson, Dionne Warwick, and Smokey Robinson. Here is the original recording, 25 years ago:



A few weeks ago, the world emotionally trembled after hearing of the terrible disaster in the physical trembles of Haiti's earthquake. Jones and Richie felt that it was only appropriate to once again bring together the greatest singers of our time to record a new, modern version of their classic song. This time the proceeds would go towards the Haiti Relief Fund. This year's artists included among others: Justin Bieber, Jennifer Hudson, Adam Levine of Maroon 5 fame, Fergie, Barbara Streisand, Celine Dion, Will.I.Am, Snoop Dogg, Jamie Foxx, LL Cool J, Nicole Sherzinger of the Pussycat Dolls, Pink!, the incomparable and legendary Tony Bennet, Kanye West, Akon, Usher, Wyclef Jean (a Haiti native himself), Randy Jackson, Josh Groban, Jennifer Nettles, Mary J. Blige, Enrique Iglesias, Iyaz, Toni Braxton, Busta Rhymes, Katherine McPhee, Harry Connick Jr., Jordin Sparks, Rob Thomas, Jason Mraz, T-Pain, Carlos Santana, the Jonas Brothers, and Miley Cyrus:



Now, here are my comments:
There is no doubt that the original was better in terms of star power. In my eyes, te original had the top tier of music's best in it's time. This years arguably, included the mid-card to upper mid-card talent in the world today. Where is Justin Timberlake, Taylor Swift, Dave Matthews, Shakira, Jay-Z, or Beyonce? I don't know, maybe I'm wrong about that, but I think that in comparison the star power was far greater in the original. Bob Dylan!!! Bruce!!! Ray Charles!!! Paul Simon!!! Michael Jackson!!! It doesn't get any bigger than that! I do have to say that I liked the remix, and I even liked the rap part of the song as it gave space for the members of the rap genre to show off what their best at. It was nice to see that all of these stars sang so emotionally for such a great cause. The obvious predicatable part of this year's recording was the inclusion of Michael Jackson's original recording. Was this necessary? I don't think so. This wasn't just a re-recording of a great song. It was a tribute to Haiti. This was not the time to have a Michael Jackson tribute. We've seen enough of those. Wyclef Jean's solos, while extremely annoying, were still appropriate due to his strong ties to Haiti.