Every singer and musician was featured on 1985’s “We Are the World” and what the supergroup achieved

The 2024 Netflix music documentary The biggest night in pop Features behind-the-scenes footage and details of the creation of the historic “We Are the World” song. Released back in 1985, “We Are The World” brought together the biggest names in the music industry From all types of genres, including pop, country, folk, rock and more. The song was assembled by producers Quincy Jones and Michael Omartian and originated by musician and activist Harry Belafonte and manager Ken Kragen.

The biggest night in pop Features new present-day interviews from Lionel Richie, who was a songwriter on “We Are the World” with pop star Michael Jackson. Richie and Jackson became acquaintances while their immensely successful music careers were just taking off as the lead singers of The Commodores and The Jackson Five, respectively. “We Are the World” remains one of the best-selling songs of all time, selling over 20 million physical copies during the mid-1980s.

All of the singers on 1985’s “We Are the World”

Lionel Richie helped assemble the huge group of performers

As discussed in The biggest night in pop“We Are the World” was developed in response to the African famine epidemic that resulted in thousands of Africans dying of starvation. It was also inspired by the success of the UK group Band Aid, which featured Bono of U2 and Phil Collins of Genesis, who released a charity song titled “Do They Know It’s Christmas?”. The result was the American supergroup USA for Africawhich consisted of many of the greatest musical artists alive at the time.

Among the most notable American recording artists in USA for Africa are Bob Dylan, Michael Jackson, Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel, Paul Simon, Tina Turner, Kenny Rogers, Stevie Wonder, Diana Ross, Willie Nelson, Cyndi Lauper and Ray Charles. Many of the biggest names involved were given solo parts in the famous 7-minute song, which can be found on YouTube, Apple Music, Spotify, Amazon Music, and in the Netflix documentary, The biggest night in pop.

What “We Are the World” achieved after the song was released

The single made millions of dollars for charity

“We Are The World” is the ninth best-selling physical single of all time and has become the fastest-selling single in United States history. It went quadruple platinum after topping several charts around the world, making it the first ever multi-platinum single. “We Are The World” also won four Grammy Awards including Best Record of the Year and Best Song of the Year in 1986. Merchandise sales of “We Are the World” raised more than $63 million, which is roughly $227 million today adjusted for inflation, far exceeding its fundraising goal of $50 million (~$140 million today).

What about me are the world 25?

The new version was not so successful

25 years after “We Are the World” was released, a new version of the song, with a new group of artists, was created. The project was officially named We Are the World 25 for Haiti. In 2009, Lionel Richie and Quincy Jones considered releasing a new cut of the original track, but a devastating earthquake in Haiti in early 2010 led to a different decision.

A new group of artists have been brought together to create a new version of the charity single to benefit rebuilding in Haiti. The idea was that a group of modern artists could bring the idea of ​​unity to a younger generation. More than 80 artists participated in the recording of the song, and several versions of the song were released.

In addition to a short version of the single that ran for 3 minutes and 25 seconds, there was also a long version of the song that ran for 6 minutes and 57 seconds. The new version of “We Are the World” also included a rap section. A Spanish language version of the track was also recorded.

A music video was also created by Paul Haggis who recorded the production of the single. Haitian film students were involved in creating the music video, so the single was not only giving money back to Haiti, but also giving Haitian artists hope for the future.

Although critics panned the new version of the song, consumers understood the sentiment behind it, making it a brief success. The song reached the number 2 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 in the US. World music consumption has changed and much of the purchasing of music has been in the form of digital downloads.

The success, however, was short-lived. While the original single had more staying power when it was released, raising money throughout the year, “We Are The World” in 2010 only remained on music charts for a few weeksAnd didn’t get much radio play. The actual amount of money raised by the 2010 single was not disclosed And it wasn’t a full look behind the curtain for the modern track as it is in the documentary The biggest night in pop.

What The Biggest Night In Pop Taught Us About “We Are The World”

The documentary showed that assembling the iconic supergroup was quite the journey

The biggest night in pop was a welcome addition to the many music documentaries on Netflix, and not just because it allowed viewers to revisit one of the most iconic Christmas songs of all time. It also revealed a great deal when it came to how difficult it actually was to pull off “We Are the World”, and showed that the supergroup and their song are almost incredibly different. Recruiting a group as large and star-studded as the singers of “We Are the World” was a difficult task to say the least, but the Netflix documentary reveals that it was even more of an uphill battle than many realized.

For example, the final lineup for “We Are the World” was not the exact list that Harry Belafonte and manager Ken Kragen had hoped for. It was originally the plan for the legendary pop icon Prince to perform on the 1985 charity single. While this is already known to some, The biggest night in pop revealed that Prince’s involvement was expected until the day of recording. It wasn’t until halfway through the recording session that producers realized Prince wasn’t going to arrive, and so Huey Lewis’ solo was arranged at the last minute.

The biggest night in pop Also revealed that no singer in the group was a guaranteed presence even after they arrived to record their vocals. It’s no secret that getting so many famous singers and musicians in the same studio would be a difficult task, however The biggest night in pop Showed that keeping them there is just as much of a challenge. Both Waylon Jennings and Sheila E. both almost left the studio, and The biggest night in pop Showed that the final version of “We are the world” almost did not include them.

total, The biggest night in pop is essential viewing for anyone curious about the difficulties of bringing together a supergroup of the likes of the performers of “We Are the World” actually is. It’s a fascinating story of a unique moment in pop history, and the Netflix documentary provides an unrivaled deep dive into the obstacle-filled recording process that led to the single’s release.