We Are the World, yo.

In 1985, there was a serious crisis in Africa. Famine broke out in Ethiopia as a result of a civil war, and many entertainers around the world wanted to do something to help. In the United Kingdom, a group call Band Aid put together a charity song, "Do They Know It's Christmas," featuring many famous British artists, such as Phil Collins, Bono, and Paul McCartney. After seeing the success of this single, Harry Belafonte decided to do the same, but in America. He put together the United Support of Artists for Africa, better known as USA for Africa, and recorded the hit single, "We Are the World."

Here is the music video for "Do They Know It's Christmas:"


"We Are the World," written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie, and produced by Quincy Jones, was one of the greatest selling singles of all time, with over 20 million singles sold. Entertainers of all genres, ranging from Cyndi Lauper to Ray Charles. I think that this is one of the reasons why the single was such a big hit, besides the fact that it benefited a good cause. People wanted to hear all of their favorite artists, like Bruce Springsteen and Stevie Wonder, performing together on one single. There was a little bit of something for everyone. Not only did "We Are the World" sell over 20 million copies, but, along with another charity event call Hands Across America, USA for Africa raised almost $100 million.

Here is the music video for "We Are the World":


Twenty five years later, Quincy Jones came together with Lionel Richie, Wycleff Jean, and Rickey Minor to rerecord the song for the citizens of Haiti. In January of 2010, Haiti was devastated by a 7.0 earthquake. After this happened, artists like Jennifer Hudson and Miley Cyrus came together to perform this song for the people of Haiti. This single was very similar to the original, except for one part that was rapped by artists including Snoop Dogg and Busta Rhymes. The video was also extremely similar to the original video; the only difference is that the new video shows footage of Haiti and Haitians.

Here is the new music video:


Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/We_Are_the_World
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USA_for_Africa
http://wearetheworldfoundation.org/the-song/