There’s a lot more going on with the all-star remake of Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On,” including a rock version that will include the frontmen from Korn and Stone Temple Pilots.
The release date for the Bono-organized, Jermaine Dupri-produced project has been bumped from December 1 to October 23, and there will now be an R&B version by Dupri, a slower version produced by Bono and a rock version manned by Limp Bizkit’s Fred Durst, according to the project’s publicist.
Durst’s version will include rock singers Jonathan Davis, Scott Weiland and Perry Farrell. Monica, Usher, Maxwell, Jagged Edge and TLC’s Chilli and T-Boz will be included in Dupri’s R&B version. The collaborators on Bono’s version will be announced later this week.
Originally recorded to benefit AIDS research, the single will now have its profits split between AIDS research and the United Way’s September 11th Fund.
Bono and other organizers of the project are talking to video directors and will choose one by the end of the week, the publicist said. The video will feature the same audio as the version currently airing on MTV, but the video footage will be different from the special clip put together by the channel.
That version includes such top-tier talent as Destiny’s Child, ‘NSYNC, Britney Spears, P. Diddy, Nelly, the Backstreet Boys, Eve, R.E.M. singer Michael Stipe, Nelly Furtado, Christina Aguilera and No Doubt singer Gwen Stefani.
Most of the first remake was recorded the week of MTV’s Video Music Awards, prior to the terrorist attacks of September 11, though Durst’s rap, which includes lyrics about the tragedy, and Jennifer Lopez’s chorus were recorded a few days after.
