Producers were putting the final touches Tuesday to a remake of "We Are The World" with stars such as Barbra Streisand, Wyclef Jean and Celine Dion lending their support for Haiti's quake victims.

It was 25 years ago that Michael Jackson, Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen joined others at the famed A&M Studios in Hollywood for an all-star recording of the same song to benefit famine relief in Africa. That effort, USA for Africa, raised 63 million dollars.

This time, dozens of other A-listers - who also include Usher, Lil Wayne, Pink, Natalie Cole and the Jonas Brothers - took to the same soundstage late Monday for a recording that dragged into the night.

The aim is to raise money to help survivors of the massive January 12 quake that killed 170,000 people and devastated what was already the poorest country in the Americas.

No cameras were allowed inside, but the song's producers said "We Are The World - 25 For Haiti" will air during NBC television's coverage of the opening of the Winter Olympics on February 12.

More than 70 stars - many of them hip-hop artists - lent their voice to the effort, none of them participants in the original recording.

Rapper Wyclef Jean, a Haiti native, said in a statement he was "proud to be joined by so many members of the artistic community that want to support the region and have donated their time and talents to providing an effective way for the global community to get involved with helping the Haitian population."

The original tune was co-written and produced by Jackson, who died June 25 of cardiac arrest, Lionel Richie and Quincy Jones.

The contemporary version of the song and the video will be available to buy through online and traditional retailers. Producers say all proceeds will go "directly" to earthquake relief efforts in Haiti.

Source: AFP

Photo: EPA/Evan Agostini