"ONE WORLD:TOGETHER AT HOME" AND "WE HEAL AS ONE"

Yesterday, I chanced upon in the Internet the time magazine coverage of  the musical program, ONE WORLD:TOGETHER AT HOME CONCERT to combat Covid 19 and support healthcare workers organized by Lady Gaga. There were plenty of singers, famous and popular, singing familiar and new songs. 

Some observations: 

1. All three hosts were men; Lady Gaga appeared twice singing - in the beginning - explaining briefly what the concert is about and at the end;

2. Zoom conference was the tech used which allowed the singers to be in their own homes, singing and being shot for flashing on screens around the world;

3. No flashy costumes nor outrageous cosmetics;

4. Accompaniments: guitar and piano;

5. Most of the known singers had their pianos at home -- all in tune and looking new;

6. Most singers played the piano, accompanying themselves while singing, thus revealing their studied musical background. I truly envy them because my piano was tampered with  by some unscrupulous harassers. My other instrument was completely destroyed as the notes now play off key;

7. Each singer was introduced with a written caption upon appearance, thus my recognizing their identities right away;

8. Funny how one host introduced Paul McCartney as his favorite composer which I found rather unethical, since there were other singer-composers in the program. Paul M sang a tune about Lady Madonna who has a hard time making both ends meet while Elton John sang, I'm Still Standing which is about a person who separated from a partner and still standing, or being independent, so to speak;

9. One Afro-American sang as if she was chanting and it was really great;

10 Pop tunes that were sung and which were familiar to me were Sunny, What a Wonderful World (orig by Louis Armstrong), Smile, People, and the Prayer, among others; 

11. In between singing were shots around the world of residents at buildings in different countries, clapping, playing a musical instrument, and lining up to cheer, applaud the healthworkers passing by; 

12. Also were interviews with healthworkers who caught the disease and had recovered;

13. Also were the difficulties they had of  being separated from their families in order not to contaminate them; 

14. One poignant scene was when the healthworkers with masks, and in blue uniform, lined up in a hospital hallway to say farewell to a comrade fully covered on a stretcher and being wheeled to his/her last stop; and 

15. The finale song was the Prayer with Andrea Bocelli (Italian); Celine Dion (Canadian); Lady Gaga (American with Italian ancestry and John Legend (American) with Lang Lang as the accompanying pianist. 

Earlier, I watched Heal as One produced by Mr. Ryan Cayabyab with Philippine singers - 

The song is a take-off from the song used in the Southeast Asian Games. A very memorable line is: 

"We serve, we share, we show compassion; We heal as one."

Music was composed by Maestro Ryan Cayabyab; title and lyrics by Floy Quintos; music arrangement and mixing by Jimmy Antiporda; music producer: Eloisa Matias; music video director,and  Frank Lloyd Mamaril.

Singers were; Iñigo Pascual, Julie Anne San Jose, Jed Madela, Pops Fernandez, Mark Bautista, Jamie Rivera, Rita Daniela, Martin Nievera, KZ Tandingan, Aicelle Santos, Isay Alvarez, Menchu Lauchengco-Yulo, Ogie Alcasid, Michael Williams, Robert Seña, Alden Richards, Ken Chan, Christian Bautista, Paolo Valenciano, Sarah Geronimo, Bamboo, Lani Misalucha, Gary Valenciano, Apl de Ap, and Lea Salonga. 

Filipino singers lent their voices in a rewritten and re-arranged version of the song used in the Southeast Asian Games.

Covid 19 brings out the musical abilities of singers from around the world. We hope the singing also stops it in its tracks.

By the way, the US through its IO at the WH recently suspended funding of the World Health Organization or WHO, the recipient of the One World raised funds of US127 M.