A new kind of HOPE.
It seems as though it takes a natural disaster or rather any sort of catastrophe to unite people together for a common cause. I wish everyday we'd ban together for something good. Nonetheless, after the horrendous earthquake that hit Haiti, recording artists, producers, and celebrities came together to fundraise and bring aid to the wonderful Haitians. This unification reminded me of 9/11 when a similar thing happened, songs were re-released but seemed to have more meaning than before, or new songs were recorded for the purpose of raising money for victims.
This year, the Hope for Haiti NOW telethon, which was a huge success, brought celebrities like Tom Hanks, Ben Stiller, President Clinton and others to tell of heart wrenching/beautiful stories of select Haitians lives post-earthquake. In between stories, recording artists like Jay-Z, Beyonce, Rihanna, Bono, Christina Aguilera, Alicia Keys, Justin Timberlake, Madonna, and many more covered great songs like Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah," "Lean on Me," "Like a Prayer," "Halo," and my personal favorite written for the cause, "Stranded (Haiti Mon Amour)." With the help of these artists, politicians and entertainers, millions were raised in an effort to help the people. In Canada the amout of money raised has been released, with CBC reporting $16 million, andNews1130 citing that telethon raised just over 9.4 million dollars. These differing reports come from the fact that $9.4 Million was raised from English based Canada for Haitiand $6.8 million was raised from the French based Ensemble For Haiti. The US amount hasn't quite yet been released, but needless to say, there was a substantial amount raised, but they could use all the aid they can get.
In another effort to raise money, Simon Cowell has banded mulitiple artists to come together and cover R.E.M's 'Everybody Hurt's' which will be released on 2/8 with all proceeds going to Haiti. The track includes, Leona Lewis, Bon Jovi, Mariah Carey, Susan Boyle, and Michael Buble, just to name a few.
As well, Oprah dedicated an episode to Haitian relief in which Rihanna performed a cover of Bob Marley's 'Redemption Song.' and it sounds great.
I know we've all made an attempt to help the amazing people of Haiti in their devastating times, but I want to urge you to help a little more. iTunes, has been so gracious as to put all performances from Hope for Haiti NOW into a compilation album where you can get all tracks performed. They also have the Oprah exclusive ofRihanna's cover, and when released, 'Everybody Hurts' will be available. Please, purchase these albums and help the recovery process to our brothers and sister in Haiti. I couldn't ask for more than to have my proceeds go to relief and also get great tracks to listen to. These artists have banned together to help, so can we. You can visit Hope for Haiti Now or Hope for Haiti to make donations. Or, if you would like excellent tracks in the meantime, visit iTunes to purchase the albums.
Here are some performances to get you amped on these tracks, and give you the opportunity to help make a difference!
Donate Now: 1-877-99-HAITI in US/Canada, or go to www.hopeforhaitinow.org
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