Michael Jackson Planning "We Are The World 2"

Thirteen years after "We Are The World" helped raise millions of dollars for Ethiopian famine relief, Michael Jackson wants to use the name for a benefit concert in South Korea.

Tentatively titled "We Are The World 2," Jackson's concert would take place on Oct. 10 at the Olympic Stadium in Seoul. Money raised from the event will be earmarked for the starving children of North Korea, the L.A. Times reported.

Luciano Pavarotti, Whitney Houston, Celine Dion and Boyz II Men will be invited to perform, according to the Times. Jackson also wishes to obtain taped messages to air during the event from world dignitaries such as Nelson Mandela and Pope John Paul II, conveying their words of hope and peace.

The concert, however, is in its planning stages and has not yet been absolutely confirmed.

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Song Stories

“1999”

Prince | 1982

“I don’t consider myself a great poet,” Prince told Rolling Stone. “I just know I’m here to say what’s on my mind.” In the case of the apocalyptic party anthem “1999,” he was worried about then-president Ronald Reagan’s foreign policies. The song’s melody is based on a riff borrowed from the Mamas and Papas’ “Monday, Monday,” and Prince originally envisioned the first verse with three-part harmony but later split the vocals between himself and members of the Revolution. Because Warner Bros., with whom Prince was locked in a contractual battle, owned the original’s masters, Prince rerecorded the song and appropriately released that version in 1999.

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