Four Fundamental Issues With "We Are The World 25"

There is no doubt that "We Are The World 25", the update of the iconic 1985 charity single penned by legends Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie, will do a lot to help the people of Haiti, and I certainly hope it does.

However, unlike the original, the new version absolutely fails as a pop composition, and everyone knows, whether they admit it or not, that Michael Jackson is absolutely spinning in his grave (to be fair, he's been rolling since he's been buried).

Here are the four reasons why "We Are The World 25" blows:

1. The rap verse - How utterly baseless and contrived was the unexpected rap portion of the song? In an effort to bring some contemporary edge where it was never needed, the rap helped in devaluing one of the best pop songs for charity ever.

2. Wyclef Jean - The love he has for his home country is touching, for sure. But dear God, he sounded like a cat was literally shredding his throat in some parts. Some may chalk it up to passion, but there had to have been more appropriate avenues to express it than through his voice.

3. Justin Bieber starting the song - Seriously? The beginning of the song, originally sung by Lionel Richie, was given to, of all people, freakin' Justin Bieber? How much pot was involved in that decision?

4. Overloaded, under-qualified - What made the original so magical was the level of starpower that attended the recording session and how they all interacted with each other. You had Cyndi Lauper next to Bruce Springsteen, Huey Lewis next to Kim Carnes, Michael with everybody. There was a real sense of camaraderie there. This remake, however, was nothing more than a jumbled list of A to C-list talent. There were way too many people on the bill, and a lot of them couldn't be compared to the lesser talent of the original USA for Africa group. I mean, Kim Carnes only had "Bette Davis Eyes", but she is worth a helluva lot more than the Jonas Brothers (by the way, Nick, we haven't forgotten your Bob Dylan dig, you jackass). To be frank, Miley, Justin, the Jonases, and quite few others could've supported the song by simply buying it, leaving the heavy lifting to true pop titans like Celine, Jennifer Hudson and Nettles, and Janet. Speaking of titans, where were Beyonce, Rihanna, Gaga, hell, even Jay-Z (if rapping had to be involved)?

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