What happens when 156 countries come together to simultaneously sing a tune by the Beattles? Magic, that’s what. Starbucks, in an effort to help raise awareness of AIDS in Africa for the (RED) Foundation, did just that 13:30 GMT on December 7, 2009 when they arranged to record groups –in 156 countries — singing All You Need is Love. What makes the video so awesome is that all the musicians started at the same time and kept the same tempo. This allowed the producers of the video to take clips from each country and splice them together into one cohesive whole.
With 2009 behind us and 2010 ahead of us, it isn’t a bad message to take home. A few (scenes) countries that I enjoyed: Poland – the lead threw in a bit of soul that I wasn’t expecting, the Deadheads in Japan, Grandpa in Montenegro, the Fiddler (violinist) from Chile, the Jamaican boy band, Madagascar – again with bringin’ da soul, pigs in Denmark (how awesome is that, couldn’t ignore the work to be done so sing while you work) and to a small island nation I wasn’t expecting to see (about 2:12 into the video). The video is after the break, but be sure to visit the Starbucks Love Project to add your own voice or drawing (the first 1 million each earn a 5¢ donation). Read the rest of this entry »