Teamwork does indeed "Stand Up"

Last week, when I learned about a gaggle of the biggest female recording artists getting together to record a song to benefit cancer research I had a nauseous  reaction not unlike what I imagine some of the side effects of cancer treatment may be like.  My stomach churned as I thought about the potential for a collaboration between Mariah Carey, Beyoncé, Mary J. Blige, Rihanna, Fergie, Sheryl Crow, Miley Cyrus, Melissa Etheridge, Ashanti, Natasha Bedingfield, Keyshia Cole, Ciara, Leona Lewis, Leann Rimes, and Carrie Underwood to turn into a Darwinian diva competition. Survival of the richest. Remember when the top gals from class of 2001 re-made “Lady Marmalade”?  Remember the last few seconds of that song? Missy Elliott calls out the ladies by name and they respond by doing their best “See, look? I’m a real singer!” performance: Christina Aguillera does about a full octave within her two seconds, while Lil Kim just keeps grunting “Uh” on the same note. Collaborations have high potential to make certain performers look bad for making their peers look bad. Basically, it’s a no-win situation. It must be more than a coincidence that none of the “Lady Marmalade” ladies appear on the new song, which was released earlier this week, and will be performed by all 15 women on Friday night’s multi-network special, “Stand Up to Cancer.”

Thankfully, the song in question, "Just stand Up" is not a showboating barge, and as far as mass collaborations go, it’s a little catchier than “We Are the World” but not quite as good as “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” Let’s just say it’s exactly as good as “That’s What Friends Are For.” The voices of all 15 singers are so well-blended that the only slightly sore thumb that stands out is Fergie’s deep “all up in your face.” And the proud melody and determined lyrics are the sort that give listeners hope that songs actually can change the world. The only problem with the song is that it sounds enough like the Wilson Phillips tune “Hold On” that I get a medley of both tunes in my head when I think of either one. It makes sense that it brings to mind an ‘80s hit, since it was masterminded by the team of songwriter L.A. Reid and producer Babyface, whose best known work is from ‘80s hits like “Girlfriend” by Pebbles and “Rock Steady” by the Whispers. While I applaud these two guys for excluding Xtina, Pink, Mya and Lil Kim, perhaps they should have considered calling the Wilson Phillips gals. They could probably use the exposure.