UPDATE: The "We Are the World" 25/2010 video premiered last night during the Olympics. Read our impressions, watch the clip, as well as a few behind the scenes interviews and get a complete list of performers here.
[update: 02.13.10, 13:46 // original post: 02.02.10, 10:02:36]
Our friends over at CNN just posted a partial list of performers appearing on the "We Are the World" remake. From the looks of it, we put more thought into this whole thing than the organizers did.
Okay, sure, there were a handful of bona fied stars that took part -- and we're assuming they've been given the solos -- but seriously, take a look at the other interlopers and also rans that otherwise pitched in and see if you don't agree. Hardly a batch of A-Listers. I mean, Heart? Nicole Richie? Really? C'mon! Did they just grab anyone who happened to walk past them on the red carpet at the Grammys? Kind of pales in comparison to the original ensemble, don't you think?
Some glaring omissions here, if you ask us. Forget about our wildcard picks. How about the obvious ones? Eminem? Justin Timberlake? Christina Aguilera? Carrie Underwood? Britney Spears? Kelly Clarkson? Beyonce? Jay-Z? Ryan Tedder? Rhianna? Outkast? Common? What, were they all just busy or something, or just not into the whole humanitarianism thing? And WTF? Still no Prince?
To be fair, perhaps those stars were on hand and just haven't been mentioned yet. After all, Bono's not listed, and we hear he was there. Guess we'll have to wait and see like everyone else when the song premieres on February 12 during the Winter Olympics opening ceremony in Vancouver. In the meantime, here's our knee-jerk reactions to the performers we know about so far.
Carlos Santana: Sure. Why not. Orianthi: She shreds. Just watched This Is It. No argument here. Jennifer Hudson: Meh. Jamie Foxx: Natch. How did we put it before? "Uh, duh!" Sugarland: The whole band or just the annoying lady from that Bon Jovi song? Adam Levine: Sure. Makes sense. Jason Mraz: Ditto. Earth Wind & Fire: This is Philip Bailey, right? Know anyone else in that band? Natalie Cole: Eh, whatever. Sure. The Jonas Brothers: Good timing. Shelf life is almost up here. T-Pain: Not a bad call. Assuming his verse is auto-tuned. Brian Wilson: How was he not on the original? Justin Bieber: Two words: Jesse McCartney. Nicole Scherzinger: Homegirl's fifteen minutes was up a long time ago. India.Arie: Good pick. No qualms. Julianne Hough: Uh ... who? Mary Mary: Likewise. Melanie Fiona: Ditto. BeBe Winans: Can't go wrong with gospel. Mya: Oh, yeah, Mya. She sings that one song, right? Fail. Tyrese Gibson: This pick was aesthetic, right? Anthony Hamilton: Great pick, even though no one knows who he is. Raphael Saadiq: Another one they got right. Gladys Knight: Can't argue with this one. Keri Hilson: Decent pick but limited name recognition. Joel and Benji Madden: Whatever, dude. Heart: What, was Foreigner busy? Brandy: Sure, if this was ten years ago. Pink: Of course. Musiq Soulchild: Uh, we'd have picked Maxwell, but sure. Miley Cyrus: Another, uh, duh! Akon: Unfortunately, this makes sense. Jordin Sparks: So does this -- less so, but nonetheless. Celine Dion: Total gimme. Rob Thomas: Likewise. Katharine McPhee: We still prefer Daughtry. Jeff Bridges: Good call, duder. Randy Jackson: You bet, dawg. Patti Austin: Is this because she wasn't on the original? Kid CuDi: You'll.. Usher: get.. Will.i.am: no... Kanye West: argument.. LL Cool J: here. Issac Slade (The Fray): Well, alright. Local boy done good. Snoop Dogg: Fo' shizzle. Nicole Richie: Family ties. Pffftt! Trey Songz: Who.. Ethan Bortnick: the... Taryll Jackson: hell ... Taj Jackson: is ... TJ Jackson: this? Vince Vaughn: Eh, what the hell. Why not? Drake: Another no brainer. Freda Payne: Good call. Faith Evans: Made more sense a decade ago, but sure. Robin Thicke: Really? Rashida Jones: No surprise. Dad's producer. And she's freaking hot. Barbra Streisand: Why exactly? Jimmy Jean Louis: Uh, who? Too lazy to google. Enrique Iglesias: Ricky Martin must've been busy. Zac Brown: Zac Brown? We'll be asking the same thing in ten years. Lil Wayne: Really? No way! Didn't see this one coming. Oh wait, yeah we did. Tony Bennett: Excellent call. Josh Groban: We'd opt for that Bocelli dude, but whatevs. Sean Garrett: Again, who? Harry Connick Jr.: Shrug. Al Jardine: He's a Beach Boy, right? Bone Thugs-n-Harmony (Bizzy Bone): Baffling on many levels. A.R.Rahman: Huh?
