Kacey Musgraves, Ty Herndon Lend Voices to Orlando Nightclub Shooting Charity Single [LISTEN]
Two country stars are among those who lent their voices to a tribute to the victims of June's Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando, Fla. Kacey Musgraves and Ty Herndon are just two of the two dozen artists singing on "Hands."
Written by Justin Tranter and Julia Michaels and produced by BloodPop, Mark Ronson and Tranter, "Hands" also features Mary J. Blige, Jason Derulo, Tyler Glenn, Halsey, Imagine Dragons' Dan Reynolds, Juanes, Adam Lambert, Mary Lambert, Jennifer Lopez, MNEK, Alex Newell, Pink, Prince Royce, Nate Ruess, RuPaul, Jussie Smollett, Britney Spears, Troye Sivan, Selena Gomez, Gwen Stefani and Meghan Trainor, as well as the Trans Chorus of Los Angeles. The artists all recorded their parts separately, from wherever they were at the time; Billboard reports that Herndon was in Spain, while Musgraves was in Nashville.
"We assigned everybody what we thought would be the best part for their voice, and we asked them all to sing an additional part, just in case," Tranter explains. "But everybody got it done in time, so we ended up with extra vocals."
"Doesn't matter / Who you love / All that matters / Is you love," the song's second verse goes, with Musgraves taking lead on the next lines: "I’ve been watching news / And seeing all this hate / Tell me is it wrong / To want a little change?”
"We didn't want to have any trendy electronic elements. We wanted it to sound classic, timeless and human," Tranter notes of the tune's simple arrangement. "We want this anthem of positivity to be played for years to come."
"Hands" is now available for download on iTunes. Proceeds will benefit the Equality Florida Pulse Victims Fund, the LGBT Community Center of Central Florida and GLAAD, aiding the affected families with medical care and counseling and also being used for education.
“There has been beauty in the midst of our grief," says Equality Florida Executive Director Nadine Smith, "and we are grateful to these talented artists, producers and GLAAD for helping us mourn and laugh and cry and sing together."
Following the shooting at Pulse on June 12, which left 49 dead and 53 injured, numerous artists have offered tributes to the victims: Luke Bryan called for a moment of silence during his 2016 CMA Music Festival performance, the Dixie Chicks dedicated “Better Way” to the victims, and Little Big Town performed their touching song “Miracle” in remembrance, among others. Additionally, Tyler Farr, Maddie & Tae and more performed in Orlando as part of Orlando's Night of Healing & Country Music, the proceeds from which were donated to the OneOrlando Fund.
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