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If you’ve been as wrapped up in the Olympic coverage as I have over the past few days, there’s a good chance you caught the world premiere of “We Are the World 25 for Haiti.” The song is a re-imagining of the classic 1985 charity song by celebrity super-group USA for Africa, this time aimed at providing aid for Haiti in the wake of their recent misfortunes.
The track features a who’s who of mainstream musicians across several genres. From Akon to Barbra Streisand, Tony Bennett to Lil Wayne, and everyone in between, artists from across the spectrum gathered together to recreate this timeless song.
When I first heard the song and watched the accompanying video, I had my criticisms, but for the most part I was impressed. The song integrated artists from several genres and paid significant tribute to the original, with Quincy Jones and Lionel Ritchie returning as producers. Footage was also included from the 1985 music video featuring the late Michael Jackson, this time sharing the screen with his sister Janet as they performed his original vocals as a duet.
There are several parallels drawn between the original and the update. The controlled chaos of a 1985 Bruce Springsteen is reflected 25 years later in Haitian-American Wyclef Jean’s impassioned declaration that he and his island brethren, “Nou se mond la! We are the children!”
Parallels drawn between Bob Dylan and Lil Wayne — who contributes a heavily Auto-Tuned update of Dylan’s lyrics — are striking given Time Magazine’s 2008 comparison of the two. Mary J. Blige’s take on Tina Turner’s vocals and Jamie Foxx’s reprisal of his Oscar-winning role as the late Ray Charles are both magnificent.
But you can’t please everyone, and now people are discussing the song for all the wrong reasons: Why did Justin Bieber get to sing the opening line? Why did they let Lil Wayne and T-Pain ruin the song with Auto-Tune? Why did they change the lyrics to omit a reference to God? Why did they include a rap verse? And on they go, ad nauseam.
Sadly, the focus seems to be more on the song itself than on the message it seeks to spread and goal it seeks to attain. In this celebrity culture we live in, more people are worried about LL Cool J rapping on the track or T-Pain’s Auto-Tune than actually lending a hand.
To their questions, I ask one of my own: Who cares? People can discriminate against this song based on musical preference, wondering why certain artists were given solo preference and others were relegated to the chorus, but who really cares?
This all runs counter to the song’s overall point. It’s not about who gets the solo and who doesn’t. It’s not about who can sing and who can’t. It’s about all of us. It’s about people with the ability to effect change uniting under a common banner in order to achieve that end.
People can say the update does not live up to the enduring legacy the original has created in the American consciousness, and that might be true, but this song defies criticism. It is immune to the slings and arrows of people who presume to have a clue.
These celebrities are merely the medium through which the message can be most effectively transmitted. They are there because they represent us as a culture, and they understand the responsibility they have to influence fans of their music to do the right thing. Rather than focus on the trivialities of celebrity goings-on, it would be nice if everyone would stop for one second, take a look at the world — the way it is and the way we all wish it could be — and stand together in solidarity and be the change.
Derek McKinley is a staff reporter for The Maine Campus.
