"He had to be there," Ritchie said
'We Are The World' Remake for Haiti includes Michael Jackson Michael Jackson was an integral part of the first "We Are the World," from co-writing the song to singing it alongside a gang of fellow celebrities. Now, twenty-five years later, and only hours before "We Are the World — 25 for Haiti" was set to premiere, Lionel Richie revealed on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" Friday that Michael Jackson will be part of the remake's song and video.
"He had to be there," Richie told the talk-show host. "If you're not gonna be there for the production, you still gotta be a part of it." Jackson's vocals leads the new all-star cast through the famous refrain on the song's chorus, Richie said. And in the Paul Haggis-directed clip, archive footage of MJ singing from the original shoot will appear alongside his sister Janet Jackson in the new video.
"We have Michael singing that exact part and Janet singing along with him," Richie said, describing the moment as "emotional." "We Are the World — 25 for Haiti" debuted on NBC during the opening cerem