LYRICS
Singers and bands from around the world have been gathering in London to record a charity single in aid of the victims of the Haiti earthquake disaster. Artists like Mariah Carey, Robbie Williams and Susan Boyle have donated their time and talent in order to record a cover version of REM’s classic track Everybody Hurts. The project has been organised by music mogul Simon Cowell, the mastermind behind recent TV talent shows such as the X Factor, America’s Got Talent and Pop Idol. Cowell has assembled talent from his stable of X Factor winners alongside established acts such as Take That to record the song, the proceeds of which will be divided between a UK newspaper’s Haitian fund and the Disasters Emergency Committee, an umbrella organisation made up of 13 of the UK’s leading aid agencies. Music fans who want to see their favourite artists gathered in one place for the recording of the single will be sadly disappointed however. That’s because the performers are recording only a line or two of the song which will then be stitched together digitally to complete the track. It’s all a far cry from the early days of charity singles when singers would huddle round a microphone, giving a live performance. Other famous faces have also been doing their bit for the Haitian victims. The British band Radiohead raised more than $500,000 for the appeal by performing a special gig in Los Angeles. Hollywood actor George Clooney’s Hope for Haiti Now telethon has so far raised $61m thanks to celebrities like Madonna and Jay Z. The 7.0 magnitude earthquake on 12 January killed as many as 200,000 people and has left an estimated 1.5 million people homeless.