YouTube has named the “We Are the World (YouTube Edition)” video, helmed by Lisa Lavie, as one of the top 50 videos that defined You Tube for 2010. That’s not all! CNN also chose the video as one of the Best Viral Videos Of 2010.
We checked in with Lisa Lavie herself to learn more about the video. We also caught up with a few of the many (50+) talents who participated: Ahmir, J. Rice and Maria Zouroudis.
Lisa Lavie tells TheStarScoop.com exclusively:
“I was in the car driving and the idea to do a YouTube version of “We are The World” popped into my head. I knew this was going to be a huge undertaking, but I was so excited about the idea that I reached out to everyone that night and started piecing it together.
When the final product was complete (5 days later) I was ecstatic as to how it turned out. Iman Crosson spent 3 days non stop editing the video, and seeing this project come to life was so amazing.”
According to J. Rice, “Lisa and Iman should get a YouTube trophy for pulling it off on the editing and arranging side!” KC and Mr. Jones of Ahmir praised Lavie’s “brainchild” and her hard work.
Putting the video together meant that Lavie assigned different parts to each YouTube artist. She did so by going to each “singer’s channel and listen[ing] to their voice to get a better idea of how high or low a singer could sing, if a particular part would sound better with their tonal quality, etc.”
Mr. Jones of Ahmir adds, “We were definitely honored that she reached out and asked us to be part of it. It was probably the biggest collaboration that YouTube’s ever seen.”
Maria Zouroudis “was excited to be part of such a big collaboration!” and J. Rice was “just happy to have been a part of something like this.”
They all had the opportunity to meet one another and perform together in D.C., KC of Ahmir tells us, and it’s clear that all involved cherish the opportunity and the memory.
J. Rice recalls, “We all got to meet each other in D.C. That was life changing. I have never been around so many gifted and humble people. We went from total strangers to instant friends within a day or two.”
Adds Maria Zouroudis, “We had an awesome weekend of non-stop music and left calling each other family.”
And now, YouTube has named “We Are The World (YouTube Edition)” as one of the top 50 videos that defined You Tube for 2010. We couldn’t agree more. Lavie tells us, “I was so shocked when I heard word of that as there is over 24 hours of footage uploaded to YouTube every minute.”
Maria Zouroudis sums up the group feeling, telling us that “we’re all very proud! None of us expected the video to get so much attention.”
We asked the guys from Ahmir whether there would be any more collabs of this size and whether they’d participate?
“Oh yeah, definitely,” says KC.
“We’re all for collabs,” says Mr. Jones. “We’ve got a couple coming up for the beginning of the year that we’re excited about.” Ahmir’s manager, Michael Cheung also notes that “the guys enjoy working with people…forming friendships,” and expressed enthusiasm over creating such wonderful music.
We think Lisa Lavie would be game for another big collaboration too; she adds, “YouTube collaborations are always the best, especially collabs of this magnitude. It unites that entire community and I love that!”
So what’s in store for all of these amazing YouTube artists in 2011? Newly signed Ahmir hopes to drop their first single in the second or third quarter. Maria Zouroudis is “looking to grow my YouTube channel with more exciting content. I’m also planning on completing my first album/EP! It’s going to be a year of hard work and good music!”
For more on Lisa Lavie:
Lisa Lavie on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/lisalavie1
Lisa Lavie on iTunes: http://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/lisa-lavie/id137061467
Lisa Lavie on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/lisalavie
Lisa Lavie on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/LisaLavie
For more on J. Rice:
J. Rice on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/jriceproductions
J. Rice on iTunes: http://www.itunes.com/jrice
J. Rice on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jricemusic
J. Rice on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/jricemusic
For more on Ahmir:
Ahmir on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/ahmirtv
Ahmir on iTunes: http://www.itunes.com/ahmir
Official Website: http://ahmirmusic.com/
Ahmir on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/ahmir
Ahmir on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Ahmir/30419735908
For more on Maria Zouroudis:
Maria Zouroudis on YouTube: www.youtube.com/MariaZouroudis
Maria Zouroudis on iTunes: www.iTunes.com/MariaZouroudis
Official Website: www.MariaZouroudis.com
Maria Zouroudis on Twitter: www.twitter.com/MariaZouroudis
Maia Zouroudis on Facebook: www.facebook.com/MariaZouroudis
J. Rice on iTunes: http://www.itunes.com/jrice
J. Rice on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jricemusic
J. Rice on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/jricemusic
