A new incarnation of the classic song “We Are the World” made its video world premiere Friday night during NBC’s opening ceremonies of the Winter Olympics, with a simultaneous worldwide screening of the full, seven-minute version shown on 53 domestic and international channels Saturday afternoon.
The video, which was made to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the original and to help the people of Haiti, features teen sensation Justin Bieber, who opens the song, along with Jennifer Hudson, Nicole Scherzinger, Barbra Streisand, Celine Dion, Fergie, Josh Groban, LL Cool J, Nick Jonas, Miley Cyrus, Haitian-American singer Wyclef Jean, and Lil Wayne (using auto-tune). Also included in the video is a touching tribute to Michael Jackson, who co-wrote “We Are the World” with Lionel Richie and is the only artist to appear in both the original and new versions. Michael is shown on a split screen from the original video, while his sister Janet sings alongside him in present day.
The song and video are currently available on iTunes and other commercial music/video sites, with all proceeds going to the Haiti Relief Fund. In case you missed this weekend’s airings, here it is.
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