>> How the Orlando Charity Single ‘Hands’ Went From Idea to Reality
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Derrière la chanson sobrement intitulée « Hands », 24 artistes américains, dont Mary J. Blige, Selena Gomez, Jason Derulo ou encore Gwen Stefani, Adam Lambert, Pink, Juanes, Kacey et Britney Spears se sont ainsi rassemblés en hommage aux victimes de la tuerie d’Orlando pour lancer un appel contre l’homophobie.
D’abord posté sur Youtube avant d’être mis en téléchargement payant sur la plateforme iTunes, le titre est écrit par Justin Tranter, frontman du groupe glam’rock new-yorkais « Semi Precious Weapon », qui avait notamment ouvert le « Monster Ball Tour » de Lady Gaga. Une ballade « classique, intemporelle et humaine », d’après son auteur, inspirée du célèbre « We are the world » de Michael Jackson et Lionel Richie. Un message d’espoir et de tolérance pour inciter à la générosité tout en rappelant que si « les mains peuvent détruire, elles peuvent également changer le monde. »
Il n’y a pas encore de clip « officiel » mais pour écouter la chanson :
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Tous les fonds collectés seront reversés à des associations qui soutiennent les familles des victimes et rescapés du massacre, dont Equality Florida Pulse Victims, mais aussi le centre LGBT d’Orlando, auquel Justin Tranter est désormais bénévole, ainsi qu’à l’association GLAAD (alliance gay et lesbienne contre la diffamation).
Joëlle Berthout
stophomophobie.org
>> The day after a gunman killed 49 people and wounded 53 at the gay nightclub Pulse in Orlando, Fla., last month, the songwriter Justin Tranter got on a plane there to lend a hand.
Arriving from Miami, where he was on tour with Selena Gomez, Mr. Tranter spent the day volunteering at an Orlando L.G.B.T. center before taking a meeting with representatives for Glaad that Sunday night. He wanted to do more — writing a song seemed like the obvious answer.
« It’s not an original idea,» Mr. Tranter said of spearheading a charity single, à la « We Are the World. » « It’s a classic one: musicians creating music to raise money and awareness. »
The result was « Hands, » a track released Wednesday that features some of the biggest names in pop music, including Ms. Gomez, Britney Spears, Jennifer Lopez, Gwen Stefani, Mary J. Blige, Pink, Juanes, Kacey Musgraves, Adam Lambert and many more. Proceeds from the song, available exclusively on iTunes, will benefit Equality Florida, the GLBT Community Center of Central Florida and Glaad.
« I’m so connected to the community that I was lucky enough to be born into, » said Mr. Tranter, who was a teenager when he came out as gay. « Why not try to help as much as you possibly can? »
Mr. Tranter wrote « Hands » with his frequent collaborator Julia Michaels and the producer Blood Pop — all part of the team behind Justin Bieber’s No. 1 hit « Sorry. » The producer Mark Ronson also contributed to “Hands,” while Glaad, the music publisher Warner Chappell and the label Interscope helped to wrangle the artists.
« We wanted to make sure the group was diverse in terms of genre and where people come from, » Mr. Tranter said. « This tragedy was against the L.G.B.T. community and people of color, especially the Latin community. We wanted to make sure that we were inclusive every step of the way. »
