mimi and them other regularities

JUST STAND UP
Artists Stand Up To Cancer


Rating: A

After meeting with the women who organized the Stand Up To Cancer campaign, Antonio "L.A." Reid, Chairman of Island Def Jam Music Group was inspired to come up with a charity single that would feature more than a dozen of the world's most accomplished female superstars, and that thing from Hannah Montana. And on September 5, all the singers are expected to join together for the song's premiere performance.

Produced by Reid and Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds, Just Stand Up is every bit of what I expected from a song sung by fifteen of the most relevant names in the industry. The three-minute song has each singer alternately singing a line or two with another. Those who were unlucky enough to draw the shortest straw got a syllable to utter. Beyonce and Carrie Underwood shared the first stanza; Fergie, Leona Lewis and Keyshia Cole worked on the second; Rihanna, Miley Cyrus, LeAnn Rimes and Natasha Bedingfield on the hook; Melissa Etheridge on the adlibs; and of course Ashanti, Ciara, Mary J. Blige and Mariah Carey on the bridge.

Amazingly though, the result is magical. Everybody's vocals managed to blend in so perfectly yet the distinctive qualities of each person's voice was retained. Things worth pointing out - Beyonce did not hog the spotlight on the record (the live performance would be a totally different matter though); Underwood is just the best thing that came out of American Idol (her vocal runs are so perfectly executed); Rihanna and Cyrus sound exactly alike (though they did a good job of providing the back vocals); Fergie's strong Jamaican patois gave a good contrast to Lewis' breathy and rather weak vocals; and Blige and Carey should do a record together because they just sound so freaking awesome.

Just Stand Up is a really good pop song. I never thought that they could pull off something as contemporary a tune. However, noble purposes aside, I am eager to see the live performance as I want to know who will try to outsing whom. After all, there can only be one diva.

*******

If the mind keeps thinking you've had enough but the heart keeps telling you don't give up. Who are we to be questioning, wondering what is what. Don't give up through it all, just stand up.