We are the world

The song has been performed live by members of USA for Africa on several occasions, both together and individually. One of the earliest such performances occurred in 1985 during the Live Aid rock music festival, where at the end of the mega-concert, more than one hundred artists sang "We Are the World" on stage, including Lionel Richie, Harry Belafonte, Mick Jagger, Cher, Tina Turner, Kenny Loggins, Patti LaBelle, Dionne Warwick, and Daryl Hall, among others.[65][66] Harry Belafonte and Lionel Richie made surprise appearances at the festival for the live performance of the song.[67] Michael Jackson was reportedly going to join the artists, but was instead "working day and night in the studio on a project he was committed to," according to his publicist, Norman Winter.[68]

The song opened the inaugural celebration for U.S. President-elect Bill Clinton in January 1993.[69] The event was organized by Clinton's Hollywood friends and held at the Lincoln Memorial, where thousands of people gathered, including Aretha Franklin, LL Cool J, Michael Bolton, and Tony Bennett.[69][70] Quincy Jones remarked, "I have never seen so many great artists come together with such love and selflessness."[71] The celebration included a performance of "We Are the World," featuring Clinton, his daughter Chelsea, and his wife Hillary; the three sang the lyrics along with Kenny Rogers, Diana Ross, and Michael Jackson.[69] Edward Rothstein of The New York Times commented on the event: "The most enduring image may be that of Hillary singing 'We Are the World,' and the President-elect, if vainly, looking fashionable."[72]

Jackson used "We Are the World" as a video interlude to the song "Heal the World" during his Dangerous World Tour from 1992 to 1993.[73] He also performed it at the Super Bowl XXVII halftime show, along with his other tracks "Jam," "Billi

Solo vocalists (in order of appearance) edit Lionel Richie Stevie Wonder (2) Paul Simon Kenny Rogers James Ingram (2) Tina Turner Billy Joel Michael Jackson (2) Diana Ross Dionne Warwick Willie Nelson Al Jarreau Bruce Springsteen (2) Kenny Loggins Steve Perry Daryl Hall Huey Lewis Cyndi Lauper Kim Carnes Bob Dylan (2) Ray Charles (2) Choir edit Dan Aykroyd Harry Belafonte Lindsey Buckingham Huey Lewis and the News Johnny Colla Sheila E. Bob Geldof Jackie Jackson La Toya Jackson Marlon Jackson Randy Jackson Tito Jackson Waylon Jennings Bette Midler John Oates Jeffrey Osborne The Pointer Sisters Smokey Robinson Orchestra edit The instrumental music was performed by:

Greg Phillinganes (keyboards) Michael Boddicker (synthesizers, programming) Paulinho da Costa (percussion) Louis Johnson (bass) John Robinson (drums) Choral production and direction edit Quincy Jones

"Internalizing" the message through the catchphrase "We are,"[18] which has been described as "a call to human compassion."[19] The opening lines of the repetitive chorus proclaim: "We are the world, we are the children, we are the ones who make a brighter day, so let's start giving."[20] Lionel Richie, Stevie Wonder, Paul Simon, Kenny Rogers, James Ingram, Tina Turner, and Billy Joel sing the first two verses, followed by Michael Jackson and Diana Ross, who perform a chorus.[21] Dionne Warwick, Willie Nelson, and Al Jarreau then join in, before Bruce Springsteen, Kenny Loggins, Steve Perry, and Daryl Hall sing the second chorus.[22] Co-writer Jackson, Huey Lewis, Cyndi Lauper, and Kim Carnes continue with the song's bridge.[22] This structure has been described as "creating a sense of continuous surprise and emotional build-up."[5] As the song concludes, Bob Dylan and Ray Charles sing a full chorus, Wonder and Springsteen duet, and Charles and Ingram sing ad libitum.[22] Solo vocalists (in order of appearance) edit Lionel Richie Stevie Wonder (2) Paul Simon Kenny Rogers James Ingram (2) Tina Turner Billy Joel Michael Jackson (2) Diana Ross Dionne Warwick Willie Nelson Al Jarreau Bruce Springsteen (2) Kenny Loggins Steve Perry Daryl Hall Huey Lewis Cyndi Lauper Kim Carnes Bob Dylan (2) Ray Charles (2) Choir edit Dan Aykroyd Harry Belafonte Lindsey Buckingham Huey Lewis and the News Johnny Colla Sheila E. Bob Geldof Jackie Jackson La Toya Jackson Marlon Jackson Randy Jackson Tito Jackson Waylon Jennings Bette Midler John Oates Jeffrey Osborne The Pointer Sisters Smokey Robinson Orchestra edit The instrumental music was performed by:

Greg Phillinganes (keyboards) Michael Boddicker (synthesizers, programming) Paulinho da Costa (percussion) Louis Johnson (bass) John Robinson (drums) Production and

The horrific images of famine ravaging parts of the African continent, particularly Ethiopia, gave Harry Belafonte the idea for a humanitarian fundraising campaign. His manager, Ken Kragen, suggested forming a group of artists in the style of the successful Band Aid, a group of British musicians formed in 1984 to record the song "Do They Know It's Christmas?" for similar purposes.

Kragen chose the date and location for the recording (January 25th at A&M Studios in Los Angeles, California) to ensure the attendance of as many performers as possible. In the written invitation sent by Quincy Jones to each of them, they were advised to "leave their egos at the door." Forty-five musicians responded to the call, including Bob Geldof, who had been the promoter of Band Aid in the UK. Twenty-one vocalists participated, each performing a solo part, among them such prominent names as Ray Charles, Lionel Richie, Diana Ross, Michael Jackson, Tina Turner, Billy Joel, Stevie Wonder, Cyndi Lauper, Huey Lewis, Bob Dylan, and Bruce Springsteen. All the members of The Jackson Five sang in the choir. Phil Collins also featured prominently on percussion.

Columbia Records donated the production and distribution costs to the campaign, as well as the profits from the song. "We Are the World" hit US stores on Thursday, March 7, 1985, and sold out its first pressing of 800,000 copies by the weekend. On April 5 of the same year, more than 5,000 radio stations played the song simultaneously. The song reached number one on the charts on April 13 and remained there for four weeks.

The song won Grammy Awards for Song of the Year and Record of the Year.

In the United States alone, the song's single sold 7.5 million copies. It was later included on a music album, also titled We Are the World, which

"We Are the World" is a song written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie in 1985, produced by Quincy Jones and recorded by the supergroup USA for Africa (United Support of Artists for Africa).