Simon Cowell has stepped up to help the victims of the devastating Haiti earthquake. Although time is running out for rescue efforts, help is still needed in aiding the survivors and rebuilding. Cowell is going to do what he does best – make a record. He has chosen to re-release REM’s single “Everybody Hurts.” REM’s manager, Bertis Downs, has said the band will waive all royalty rights for the song and that the band is touched Cowell chose their song. Reportedly appearing on the single will be Paul McCartney, Susan Boyle, Elton John, Coldplay, Take That, Robbie Williams, N-Dubz, Leona Lewis, Will Young, Michael Buble, JLS, and Rod Stewart. Proceeds from the sale will go to Helping Haiti and the Disasters Emergency Committee. The single is expected to be released later this month.
Lionel Richie and Quincy Jones have announced they will do a new version of We Are the World with the profits going to Haiti relief. It is the 25th anniversary of the original version which was released to benefit those suffering from famine in Africa. Richie and Jones are hoping to have some big names on this version including Usher, Wyclef Jean, Natalie Cole, John Legend, Fergie, Justin Timberlake, Sting, and Alicia Keys.
If you watched tonight’s Hope for Haiti telethon, you may have seen Rihanna, Bono, and Jay-Z sing “Stranded.” That single, of which the proceeds will also go to Haiti relief, should be showing up on iTunes very soon.
Florence and the Machine will donate the earnings from their concert in Sydney, Australia next Tuesday to Helping Haiti.
American Airlines announced today that almost 8,000 of its AAdvantage frequent flier members donated more than $835,000 to the American Red Cross. Members were rewarded with bonus miles – 250 miles for those donating $50 and 500 miles for those donating $100 or more.
And finally, another celebrity has stepped up to donate $1 million. This time it is Leonardo DiCaprio. DiCaprio, who appeared on tonight’s telethon, donated the money to the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund through his own charity, the Leonardo DiCaprio Fund. The monies will go to help both immediate and long term recovery.
(This image is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.)
