London, England Just two weeks after announcing he was to record a charity single to raise funds for earthquake-hit Haiti, pop and television mogul Simon Cowell has delivered."Everybody Hurts," received its first airplay in the United Kingdom on Tuesday, blending the voices of veteran popstars Kylie Minogue and Robbie Williams, along with Cowell's more recent signings, Susan Boyle and Leona Lewis.
The single is a cover of the REM classic, originally released on the American band's 1992 album "Automatic for the People."
Figures on pre-order sales are due out later this week ahead of the single's official release on Sunday, February 7. It will be available for download from Monday.
Proceeds from the single's sale will be split between the Disasters Emergency Committee and the "Helping Haiti" appeal in aid of Doctors Without Borders, or Médecins Sans Frontières.
Cowell's X-Factor winner Leona Lewis sings the opening line of the track that was produced in London after separate recording sessions in the British capital and Los Angeles.
The music video is currently being filmed in London and will be released next week.
The music industry has rallied to Haiti's aid since a 7.0 magnitude earthquake reduced much of the country to rubble on January 12. More than 150,000 people died and hundreds of thousands remain homeless.
In what they are calling a "great alternative" to Cowell's single, a group of British punk legends have recorded their own charity single, a version of Screamin' Jay Hawkins' 1956 classic "I Put a Spell on You."
"I don't think there will be enough [charity singles]. Like, you can never have enough guitarists. Same kind of thing. You know what I mean. Just everybody do what you can," Mick Jones of the Clash told ITN.
Other contributors include Pogues frontman Shane MacGowan, Sex Pistols bass guitarist Glen Matlock, Primal Scream singer Bobby Gillespie and Australian singer-songwriter Nick Cave.
Earlier this week, U.S. music industry heavyweights gathered to record an updated version of "We Are the World," also to raise money for Haiti's recovery.
The original song raised at least $30 million for African humanitarian programs after its release in 1985.
Co-writer of the original song, singer Lionel Ritchie and the original producer Quincy Jones pulled together dozens of recording stars including crooner Tony Bennett and Barbra Streisand.The world premiere of the re-released "We Are the World" will take place during the NBC network's coverage of the Winter Olympics opening ceremony in Vancouver, Canada, on February 12.
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