Taylor Swift Won't Be Joining Kanye West at "We Are the World" Recording Session
Legendary producer Quincy Jones is planning an all-star sequel to "We Are the World" to benefit Haitian earthquake relief efforts. Contrary to several reports on the Web, however, it's not going to involve a reunion of Taylor Swift and Kanye West. Everyone recalls West storming the stage to disrupt her acceptance speech at last year's MTV Video Music Awards. As awkward as that unplanned moment was, it only strengthened her position among fans and within the entertainment industry. The original version of "We Are the World," released in 1985, featured co-writers Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie singing in a cast that also included Stevie Wonder, Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan and many others. According to Entertainment Weekly, "We Are the World 25," apparently the same song, will be recorded in Los Angeles on Monday (Feb. 1), the day after the Grammy Awards show. EW says the artist lineup for Monday's recording session is still being finalized, but Access Hollywood reported that "a source has exclusively confirmed" that Swift and West will be there. Not so, Swift's publicist tells CMT.com, adding, "It will be a wonderful event, but Taylor is flying out to Australia the same night as the Grammys, right after the show, to start her tour." Her first show there is Feb. 4 in Brisbane.
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Shana says:
Thank god she won’t be a part of it. That irritating voice would ruin the song
WHO CARES??????? says:
YES! THANK GOD!!!!
Katie says:
Shut up the both of you. Please :)
You have nothing to complain about if she isn’t on the track.
However I thought I heard something about Miley Cyrus being a part of it, and THAT is an irritating voice.
WHO CARES??????? says:
TO KATIE! TS SHOULD GET AN AWARD FOR THE MOST IRRITATING VOICE IN THE WORLD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
flower says:
taylor does not need this she has better things to do like her AWSOME AMAZING TOUR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
bkbs says:
her one note voice would not do well with a group of powerful singers that can carry a tune, australia can have her.
NOT HAPPY says:
THAT IS GREAT NEWS!!!!! GLAD SHE IS NOT SINGING!!!!!!!!!!
D Trotter says:
Too bad Swift can’t help out — there goes an automatic 3-to-4 million downloads for the cause.
julietteb says:
There will be lots of talented artists at the event and it will be amazing. Cant wait.
hotelmotel says:
trink claims alison wrote the article but the byline says otherwise.
ALJID says:
D Trotter puh-lease don’t say that automatic thing. Swift’s voice isn’t great or powerful enough to overshadow other voices if ever she was included. It hurt my eyes reading those lines from someone who says, “look at measurable standards,etc.” saying automatic..and she shouldn’t be singing with them either because it will just show how weak a vocalist she is.
By the way she looks old in this photo. Still it’s a good shot..she looks good in this one..
S says:
Come on bkbs, give Taylor some credit. She can hit at least three notes. I’m not saying they’re not flat, but she can hit them.
Jason C says:
Alicia Keys will destroy Taylor Swift on this one…
Peacock Queen says:
I agree with ALJID about the photo. Swift looks like a stunningly beautiful woman in this photo, and not a young girl. She is growing and maturing. If the recording career wanes due to the teenage interest moving on, then she can certainly fall back on a modeling/acting career, because she has the look, as well as a songwriting career.
S says:
She is very pretty. I think she should go the acting/modeling route and leave singing to the people who can actually sing.
K says:
Am I the only one wondering why this blog post was written? It seems like another pathetic excuse to drag up more “Taylor only won such-and-such awards because of Kanye,” and other comments of that nature.
Taylor has moved on from the incident, and there’s no need to mention either of them together if it isn’t so.
On another note, I do think Taylor is somewhat pretty- although sometimes pictures of her are unflattering. I think the picture above is not particularly attractive, because it doesn’t look like Taylor. Someone went overboard on her makeup, and even her skin coloring loks off to me in certain poses I have seen in the video.
D Trotter says:
ALJID, I have NO idea what you are going on about, or why you are addressing your comment to me. My little remark referred to the fact that Swift’s fan base is so powerful that she AUTOMATICALLY guarantees a HUGE bump in sales or gate in any venture or song that has her name attached, so it was too bad she couldn’t participate in this worthy benefit.
Just why that comment would set off that diatribe of yours, saying your “eyes hurt”, and scolding me for talking about “measurable standards” (on a previous blog, no less) is beyond me.
I know you believe your personal opinion of her singing constitutes a “measurable standard”. But it doesn’t! MY slightly tongue-in-cheek comment actually is more grounded in hard facts:
Taylor selling out a 70,000 seat football stadium in New England — hard fact.
Taylor adding a SECOND date to the 20,000-seat Staples center and immediately selling out both dates –fact!
Taylor becoming the top-selling digital artist in music history — fact!
Taylor’s new song selling 325,000 downloads in one day, thereby breaking the first-week download record for a female artist? Another fact.
As I told you last blog, I’ve tried — and failed — to educate you about the difference between OBJECTIVE, MEASURABLE CRITERIA, grounded in cold indisputable facts, and SUBJECTIVE CRITERIA, such as your personal opinions and preferences about her singing. I’m done.
bkbs says:
swift needs to go to hollywood. her singing is pathic. let the hollywood crowd have her.
Taylor on Valentine’s Day, Grammys, and more « The Swift Agency says:
[...] there won’t be a reunion with her and that guy. No, we don’t say his name on this blog. CMT contacted Taylor’s publicist who set the record straight. Taylor is headed for Australia [...]
Oscar says:
“unplanned moment”????? The Swift/West incident was the most calculated and successful publicuty stunts of the decade. It won her a lot of awards with sympathy votes, and it brought attention to Kanye. Bad press is better that no press.
John says:
Oscar…please, if the Swift/West incident was calculated it would be the biggest publicuty stunt in history. When Taylor comes out with a new song and even if its not her best song it is most downloaded song in history for one week, what do you think a song with Kanye and Taylor would do? There is a big buzz about the movie Valentine’s Day because of Taylor, and her part is small. I think it is funny that there are people out there that dont understand Taylor is not just a country star anymore. Its not her fault that the world is falling in love with her.
Jenny says:
I know for sure that Taylor was approached to do it. Too bad she had to rush off to her tour in Australia after the Grammys. She definitely would’ve helped them enormously considering she’s ruling the music charts these days. Even her new song that just released hit #1 on the itunes chart adn #2 on the Billboards chart already. Now that is insane. It shows you that the girl has a very, very, very loyal and gigantic fan base who appreciates her work. Anyway I hope the best for everyone involved in that project, hopefully it raises some much-needed money for the people in Haiti. Good luck!!!
jared4ever says:
THANK GOD she wasn’t available. When i watch the vid back in another 25 years it will be like she never existed! YAY!