- Music
- 21 Jan 10
U2, Jay-Z & Rihanna are collaborating on a tie-in single.
MTV have secured the rights to broadcast George Clooney’s Hope For Haiti telethon in Ireland and the UK.
The two-hour show, which will be co-presented by Haitian-born Wyclef Jean, will air here from one o’clock on Saturday morning UK and Irish time – that's 5pm Friday, US west coast time – and will include performances by Alicia Keyes, Justin Timberlake, Sting, Christina Aguilera and U2.
Bono and Edge are contributing further to the disaster relief, having written and recorded a Haiti charity song late last week, to which the finishing touches are now being put.
“Bono got a call from a producer, Swizz Beatz,” The Edge told Dave Fanning on his 2fm radio show last weekend. “He and Jay-Z wanted to do something for Haiti, so Bono came up with the phrase on the phone, and last night we were here, we wrote a song – finished, recorded, and sent it back to them. So, that might be the next thing you hear from us!”
"I got a call from Swizz Beats who works with Jay Z," Bono confirms, "wanting to do something for Haiti and asking if we would be part of it… I wasn't sure that we could turn something around – but they were both pretty convinced, so it’s just picked up speed from there."
Reinforcing this on his Twitter, Swizz Beatz says: “Me, Bono, Hova have something to say about Haiti. Stay tuned. I told you I was working on something amazing for Haiti. They need us!”
In case you’re wondering, ‘Hova’ is one of Jay-Z’s newly acquired nicknames.
Work on the track has been proceeding at a furious pace since the weekend, with a rap being added to it by Jay-Z and Rihanna. Hot Press understands that work will continue until the 11th hour, but that the track will make its debut on iTunes in time for the telethon.
Plans for the concert and telethon are still being finalised, but it has been confirmed that U2 will perform the track live, coming from London, with Jay Z. All of the material from the concert will be available for purchase on iTunes, which will be key to raising funds, which are desperately needed, for disaster relief.