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We Are The World (2010)
(also known as: "We
Are the World 25 for Haiti")
A Techtite
Review
Should a piece of entertainment be "reviewed," if it was
meant entirely for the purpose of charity? In one word: yes. You can't
release subpar products only to say, "Well it was only meant for charity
anyway." The very fact it was meant for charity should mean a far
superior effort! Furthermore: this video is meant as a homage, of sorts,
to one of the most incredible music videos ever filmed: the 1980's smash
hit, We Are the World. It was inevitable that this "sequel"
music video would disappoint some diehard fans. Yet how good is
it...really?
Allow me to begin with a confession: I loved the
original. Who couldn't? From the late great Ray Charles and Michael
Jackson, to 1980's musician heavyweights like Lionel
Richie, Stevie Wonder, Paul Simon, Kenny Rogers, Tina Turner, Billy
Joel, Diana Ross, Dionne Warwick, Willie Nelson, Bruce Springsteen,
Cyndi Lauper, Kenny Loggins, Steve Perry, Daryl Hall, Huey Lewis, Bob Dylan...need I go on? The original We Are the World was
legendary. It was the moment MTV essentially jumped the shark, with so
many 1980's singers in one singular music video. As the
saying went back then: awwwesome!
Jump ahead a quarter century, and what do we get?
Well, for starters: we get Justin Beiber. Now, I know; many
a tween fangirl is going to be writing a scathing letter to me asking
how could I take potshots at their beloved Justin, so let me be clear:
I'm not. I'm just stating the obvious. The opening verse was originally
sung by Lionel Richie, in a very deep voice. The new opening is sung by
a 15 year old boy. While that's not automatically a "bad"
video, it is very, very...different.
I could go verse by verse, singer-by-singer in this
review, and to this music video's credit: I cannot. Once again this
music video concept includes a very impressive roster of singers: Celine
Dion, Tony Bennett, Barbra Streisand, Jennifer Hudson, Fergie, Nick
Jonas, Mary J. Blige, Miley Cyrus, Enrique Iglesias, P!nk, Usher, Toni
Braxton, LL Cool J, Snoop Dogg, Busta Rhymes, Kanye West, and many more.
So allow me to continue the review with the most memorable moments. Let
the most memorable moments speak for themselves.
Obviously, the moment everyone's talking about, is the
"duet" between Janet Jackson and the late Michael Jackson. Reactions to
this moment can be nothing but bittersweet. On the one hand: bravo, for
the directors of this music video, to realize that nobody could replace
Michael. So they used the original video footage of Michael Jackson and
edited it into the new music video, with Janet Jackson singing a gentle
background chorus along with him. It's a cute idea, except for the
obvious nitpicks. Why didn't they do the same thing, for the late Ray
Charles? In fact; why not have a "reunion" video instead of a remake,
and reunite all the original singers, along with video footage of Ray
and Michael? It wasn't
like a remake was ever going to match the original classic anyway, so why
try?
Fans of modern musicians might think this is a "they
don't sing like the used to" sort of review. No way. I love modern
singers. I really do. Yet with all due respect; the flaws of 1980's
singers actually helped the original project. Every
1980's singer was a shameless showoff, both on and off the stage. So
when you put them all in one room together and gave them one
verse each; well, let's just say each singer wanted their verse
to "shine" the brightest! Steve Perry, Cyndi Lauper, Lionel Richie,
Michael Jackson, Ray Charles, Stevie Wonder and Bruce Springsteen, each
sang their vocals in a way that was definitively their own. Is the
problem with this remake the singers? Not exactly; each of these singers
had the ability to "bring it." They just didn't bring it.
Here's a good example of how even the best singer
didn't give this music video an "A" grade effort. Love or hate Celine
Dion: she is well known for her strong singing
voice, in award winning songs like "My Heart Will Go On." So when I tell you that she was given the
same verse that Cyndi Lauper sang with such intensity 25 years ago, I'm
sure you, just like I did, expected this moment to equal (or even
surpass?) the original. How do I put this delicately? It did not. One can only presume Celine was saving
her voice for a concert tour, because no way is this vocal
performance her best work. What happened here?
The sole exception: Miley Cyrus. Look; I'm not a
fanboy by any means, though let me tell you: it's the fact I'm
not a fanboy which forces me to give Miley Cyrus credit. I
don't own a single Miley Cyrus album. Yet when she sang her singular
verse; she "brought it." Trolls will say "oh no no no," so let me be
clear: I hardly know the girl. In fact; when I first heard the
song, I didn't even know who was singing that
verse. I simply thought to myself: "That singer came to sing."
Then I watch the music video and saw that singer was Miley Cyrus.
Interpret that as you will.
Ah yes, then there's the rapping. You read that right. The rappers decided to conclude the video
with their own little rapping number. Look; there are fans of rap, and
"h8ters" of rap. I'm not taking either side. I'm just saying the
obvious: be consistent. If you begin a dinner with spaghetti, don't
conclude the dinner with a hot dog. If you begin a music video with
Justin Beiber, don't conclude the song with Snoop Dogg. Mind you; in
the original music video, you had country singers, pop singers, blues
singers, heavy metal singers, and rock stars. Yet by stark contrast:
they all sang in unison, as one voice, with a singular style of song.
Rapping...? Whose flawed idea was this?
Yet at the core of this music video's flaws is the
flaw with every music video of the new century. These voices are so
synthesized; can anyone, aside from diehard fanboys, actually tell who
is singing which verse? Modern songs are so synthesized there is very little "human element" left. In a
music video about humanity, this is the biggest flaw of all.
---Techtite
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