Céline Dion – Sida 2 – WelcheMusic.com

John Lennon’s Happy Xmas (War Is Over) Remains a Classic

John Lennon was tragically murdered on Dec.8, 1980, just a few weeks after his 40^th birthday. WelcheMusic look back on “Happy Xmas (War Is Over)” which was originally written as a protest song about the Vietnam War. Throughout the years, it has become a Christmas standard.

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Originally released in December 1971, “Xmas” first appeared on an album in 1975 via the compilation Shaved Fish. The set was John Lennon’s seventh album, collecting every single issued in the United States as a solo artist (except “Stand By Me”). Shaved Fish peaked at No.12 in the US and No.5 in the UK.

“Happy Xmas (War Is Over)” originated from a worldwide poster campaign saying “WAR IS OVER! (If You Want It) Happy Christmas from John and Yoko.” Posters were displayed in cities including New York, Los Angeles, Toronto, Rome, Athens, Amsterdam, Berlin, Paris, London, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Helsinki. The line “War is over, if you want it, war is over, now!, ” can be heard in the background and was actually taken directly from the billboards.

Phil Spector produced the song, which was recorded at Record Plant Studios in New York City in late October 1971. The song peaked at No.3 in the US and No.2 in the UK upon its re-release in 1980, following the tragic shooting death by Mark David Chapman. Thus, it beat the original No.4 peak in 1971. Several artists have covered the song, including Céline Dion, Maroon 5, Jessica Simpson and The Fray. “Xmas” was the follow-up to John Lennon’s massive hit “Imagine,” which peaked at No.1 in the UK and No.3 in the US. The singer’s first solo single, following his years in The Beatles, was the 1969 single “Give Peace a Chance” with the Plastic Ono Band.

Jennifer Rush “Echoes Love”

The Swedish producer Jörgen Elofsson and the British singer Natasha Bedingfield have contributed to Jennifer Rush’s latest album Now Is the Hour. The second single “Echoes Love” could easily revive Cher’s career and is very similar to “Believe.” Unfortunately, the song has not stormed the charts and the album has only reached the top ten in Greece. Maybe we need Skavlan to include Jennifer Rush in his program in order to fuel the success.

Jennifer Rush’s biggest success to date is “The Power of Love,” a track the American German-based singer failed to break in the States. Instead, Céline Dion managed the trick as this was one of the biggest hits of 1993. The song was also made famous by late Laura Branigan.

What might come as a surprise to some of you is that the singer was born as Heidi Stern in Queens, New York. She changed her name to Jennifer Rush when she moved to West Germany in 1983.

Ke$ha Denies the New “We Are the World” U.S. No.1

It looked like a cakewalk. Assemble the best artists in the world and record the re-make of “We Are the World” to benefit the Haiti victims. Céline Dion, Kanye West and Barbra Streisand was unable to un-seat Ke$ha’s “TikTok.” It’s even more amazing, considering this is the ninth week atop of the Billboard Hot 100.

“We Are the World 25: For Haiti” enters at No.2, pushing Black Eyed Peas 2-3 with “Imma Be.” Ke$ha is on the rise with her second single as well, “Blah Blah Blah” jumps 22-11 – her collaboration with 3!OH!3. Jason Derulo gets his second top 10 hit with “In My Head,” following the success of “Whatcha Say” last year. Iyaz is also back with the follow-up to “Replay,” as “Solo” debuts at No.43. Rihanna enters at No.64 with “Rude Boy” and Monica is back on the Hot 100 with “Everything to Me” at No.62.

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Digital Spy notes that the Irish trio The Script reaches a new peak in the US with “Breakeven.” The track climbs twelve places to No.28.

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Dion, P!nk, Kanye Sing “We Are the World” 2010

Only a week after Simon Cowell’s feat to assemble Mariah Carey, Rod Stewart and Leona Lewis in the same room, comes the anniversary of “We Are the World.” Quincy Jones and Lionel Richie had already plans on making a re-record the track to commemorate the 25th anniversary in benefit for Haiti. Swedish producer RedOne has produced the track alongside Wyclef Jean and legendary Quincy Jones.

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The new version was recorded on Feb.1 this year and luckily many of the artists were already in L.A. to attend the Grammy awards. More than 75 musicians participated and the song was recorded at the same place as in 1985. The 2010 line-up is a walk of fame. Barbra Streisand and Celine Dion sing alongside Vince Vaughn and Jeff Bridges. Newcomers Jonas Brothers and Justin Bieber contributes as well as the hip-hop stars Kanye West, Akon, Drake and Cudie.

The new video premiered during NBC’s coverage of the Opening Cermony of the WinterOlympics last night and the video has been directed by Paul Haggis of Crash and Million Dollar Baby fame.

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