Jamie Foxx Mimics Ray Charles in New ‘We Are the World’

By: Roger Friedman   //   Friday February 12, 2010

The new version of “We Are the World” went up on iTunes last night, and you can see it everywhere at 2 p.m. Saturday. Get all the info at www.world25.org.

Justin Bieber opens the song, but is followed in quick succession by Jennifer Hudson – who just about steals the whole recording. Quickly we see and hear Jennifer Nettles of Sugarland, Josh Groban, Tony Bennett, and of course Barbra Streisand.

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Fergie Joins ‘We Are the World,’ But No Jackson Kids So Far

By: Roger Friedman   //   Friday February 5, 2010

59496350I gotta feeling: The gorgeous and full-throated Fergie — Stacy Ferguson — of the Black Eyed Peas has joined the cast of Quincy Jones’s “We Are the World 25.” The powerhouse song and video for Haiti relief debuting next Friday, February 12th during the Olympics.

Fergie did not make the recording session this past Monday, but she has since added her vocals and been filmed by Paul Haggis’s video crew. Her pea in the pod, Will.i.am, participated in Monday’s marathon session.

Fergie is only the second artist to add vocals to the record. On Thursday, Janet Jackson added hers by satellite link from Atlanta.

That’s it, then. No other artists are scheduled. As for Michael Jackson’s kids, Quincy Jones has an idea to have them read a poem by Maya Angelou at the end of the video version of the new recording. But so far nothing’s happened in that regard.

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Female Singers Dominate Top 10

By: Roger Friedman   //   Thursday January 21, 2010

gaga Female Singers Dominate Top 10What happened to all the men?

This week, the Top 10 albums, with one exception, showcase the voices and attitudes of women.

The Top 10 includes Kesha, two albums by Lady Gaga, the Black Eyed Peas (their driving force: Fergie), Taylor Swift, Alicia Keys, Mary J. Blige, and Susan Boyle.

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“Nine” Is Fine, But Daniel Day Lewis Won’t See It Again

By: Roger Friedman   //   Wednesday December 16, 2009

Rob Marshall’s exquisitely crafted movie musical, “Nine,” finally premiered in New York last night. It opens on Friday.

One person who saw it at the Ziegfeld premiere but won’t be coming back: star Daniel Day Lewis. “It was nerve-wracking” he said later of sitting through the premiere and watching the movie. What made him so nervous? He declined to say. But frankly, DDL makes a very convincing Guido Contini. He has nothing to worry about. And at the big party later at cavernous M2 in West Chelsea, DDL was accessible and fun. He posed for pictures with well wishers and entertained wife Rebecca Miller’s famous actress aunt, Joan Copeland, younger sister of the late Arthur Miller. DDL also got to meet legendary crooner Tony Bennett, who declared “Nine” a “masterpiece.”

Still: “That’s the one and only time I will do that,” Daniel told me, even though the audience loved him, loved “Nine,” and the ladies in it so much that they were applauding the musical numbers before they ended.

And in the audience were all the cast with the exception of Sophia Loren, who was working in Rome.

Penelope Cruz even brought boyfriend and rumored fiancee Javier Bardem, who was originally going to play Guido but backed out after his role in “No County for Old Men” exhausted him. Her favored director and pal Pedro Almodovar was also on hand.

Kate Hudson, looking like a million bucks and happier than ever without baseball star Alex Rodriguez, was accompanied by mom Goldie Hawn. When I mentioned to Goldie that Kate’s performance was reminiscent of her own on “Laugh In” back in the day, Goldie laughed and said: “The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree!”

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