Leona and JLS signed for Haiti charity single
Leona and JLS signed for Haiti charity single
Friday, 22, Jan 2010 05:35
By Lewis Bazley.
X Factor stars Leona Lewis and JLS will be joined by the likes of Rod Stewart and Michael Buble on a planned charity single for victims of the Haiti earthquake.
The Sun newspaper has teamed up with Simon Cowell for the single, set to be a cover of REM's 1993 ballad Everybody Hurts.
Some 200,000 people are feared dead after a 7.0 quake struck Haiti, with at least 1.5 million people left homeless in the destruction.
Aid agencies have faced a struggle to rescue survivors and bring food and water to the wounded due to Haiti's already crippled infrastructure.
While US celebrities are to appear on a Hope for Haiti telethon this Friday, leading lights of the British music industry are channelling their fundraising efforts into the upcoming charity track.
"We are all working hard to make this single a success and to raise lots of money for Helping Haiti," Cowell explained.
"We have a short time to do this and the people in Haiti need as much help as we can possibly give them as soon as possible.
"I'd like to make this record with as many different types of singer as we can and I hope everyone in the industry comes together to get involved. The response has been fantastic."
Other artists believed to have been approached include George Michael, Robbie Williams, Sir Paul McCartney and Take That.
Prime minister Gordon Brown has agreed to waive VAT from sales of the song and Brendan Gormley, chief executive of the Disasters Emergency Committee stressed: "Buying the charity single will greatly aid our work and help us build new lives from the ruins."