Pink, Natalie Cole, Kanye West, Jennifer Hudson, Celine Dion, Brian Wilson and others stood shoulder to shoulder Monday night on risers at Henson Recording studios, singing in hopes of aiding Haiti.

"This one, the enthusiasm, I've never seen anything like it," said Lionel Richie, who wrote the original "We Are the World" with Michael Jackson, and oversaw the redux version with music mogul Quincy Jones, 76.

Jones, who produced the 1985 anthem, announced last week that he planned to redo the song to benefit recovery efforts after the devastating 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck Haiti Jan. 12.

The song, officially titled "We Are the World _ 25 for Haiti," will premiere this month during coverage of the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics on NBC, according to a release from promoter AEG Live.

On Monday, stars converged on the recording studio's Studio A in the afternoon and stayed several hours. Richie and Jones worked with a select number of soloists, including Pussycat Dolls singer Nicole Scherzinger, later into the night.

At one point during a break, the musicians broke out into an a cappella version of the pop classic "Lean on Me," a classic moment jump-started by singer Melanie Fiona leaning on another artist because her feet were tired.

Gesturing with her hands, and shifting her headphones from ear to ear, Barbra Streisand recorded her solo over and over again, completely absorbed in the recording process and stopping only to correct her pitch.

Later, a who's who of rappers, including Snoop Dogg, LL Cool J and Wyclef Jean, recorded an interlude written by Black Eyed Peas frontman and producer will.i.am.

Rapper Lil Wayne said he was blessed to record the tune but was surprised when told he would do Bob Dylan's part from the original.

"I don't know how to sing," he admitted, with a smile.

Asked how the earthquake had affected him, he said he had Haitian friends in Miami who lost relatives in the disaster.

The original "We Are the World" thundered up the charts when it was released in March 1985.

An unprecedented number of top pop musicians gathered at A&M the night of Jan. 28, 1985, following the American Music Awards, to record the tune. The song featured 45 American superstars, including Jackson, Richie, Stevie Wonder, Bruce Springsteen and Cyndi Lauper.

The record raised more than $30 million that year for USA for Africa, a nonprofit the singers founded to fund hunger relief in Africa.

None of the original performers returned for Monday because none were asked, said Randy Phillips, chief executive of tour promoter of AEG Live and also Richie's manager.

"This is about a new generation mixed with an old generation," Phillips said.

Proceeds from the song initially are to go to the newly formed charity We Are the World Foundation LLC, then be distributed to Haiti.

Some top music names were either unavailable to record, or opted not to re-record the original, Phillips said. Taylor Swift's touring schedule kept her from joining Monday, and Beyonce Knowles had returned already to New York with husband Jay-Z, Phillips said. Janet Jackson, who was out of town, will contribute vocals remotely, he said.

Filmed by Oscar-winning screenwriter and director Paul Haggis, the event was shot using 3D cameras, a futuristic twist from the 1985 version. A few people dressed in head-to-toe green stood next to the celebrities as place holders so viewers would eventually be able to insert themselves into the star crowd, Jones said.

Josh Groban, flush from doing his own high-flying solo, noted that everyone had left their ego at the door.

"I can only hope this can have the impact the original has had," he said.

A statement released Thursday said Beyonce would perform from London, and Madonna from New York City. The list of musical performers already includes such heavyweights as Bruce Springsteen, Alicia Keys, Stevie Wonder, Taylor Swift, Justin Timberlake and Keith Urban.

"It's a big world out there, and we all have a lot of responsibility to look out for people who can't look out for themselves," telethon organizer George Clooney said in an MTV interview that aired Thursday night. "So what we can do is first and foremost, raise money. Period. That's it ...

"If I thought we could all pick up shovels and go in there and help without being in the way, I think a lot of people would do that."

An estimated 200,000 people were killed after a powerful earthquake struck Haiti last week, devastating the nation.

The two-hour telethon will be shown on all the major networks and a host of other channels. It will be broadcast from New York, London, Los Angeles and Haiti.

People can begin donating even before the start of the 8 p.m. EST concert via phone and text. Viewers can also download musical performances from the show via iTunes for 99 cents. Those profits will also be donated to Haiti relief.

Also Thursday, DiCaprio announced he was donating $1 million to the Clinton-Bush Haiti Fund, the relief effort led by former Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush and one of the organizations benefiting from the telethon.

Bruce Springsteen, Jay-Z, Taylor Swift, Justin Timberlake, Keith Urban and Alicia Keys are just a few of the performers who will be featured, according to MTV Networks, an integral partner in the two-hour event.

Haiti was devastated and thousands of its citizens killed when an earthquake hit the Caribbean nation last week.

"Hope For Haiti Now: A Global Benefit for Earthquake Relief" will be an international event. Haitian native Wyclef Jean will anchor the show from New York, while George Clooney will do so from Los Angeles. CNN's Anderson Cooper will report from Haiti.

London has also been added to the lineup, and that's where Jay-Z will perform, along with Bono, The Edge and Rihanna in a special joint performance. Coldplay is also to perform from London.

In New York, Springsteen will perform, along with Jennifer Hudson, Mary J. Blige, Shakira, Jean and Sting. In Los Angeles, Swift is to perform, and Urban, Kid Rock and Sheryl Crow plan a collaboration. Also performing in Los Angeles is Timberlake, Dave Matthews, John Legend, and Stevie Wonder.

People can purchase the night's performances for 99 cents each through iTunes starting Saturday. A statement released Tuesday says all proceeds will go to Haiti relief.

The "Hope for Haiti" benefit will be broadcast from New York, Los Angeles, London and Haiti. It will be televised on all the major networks at 8 p.m. EST, as well as MTV, VH1, CMT, BET, PBS, CNN, Bravo, and a host of other networks. In addition, the telethon will be streamed live on Web sites including YouTube, MySpace and AOL.

The funds raised from the telethon will be donated to several relief organizations, including UNICEF, Oxfam America and Partners in Health.