At a time where the news is almost always filled with devastating stories, a single song can bring comfort and enlightenment for people to be kind to one another.
That song is “We Are the World,” originally performed by the late King of Pop, Michael Jackson. Previously, the song regained popularity after several artists came together to sing it following a tragic event in Haiti.
This year, the song once again made rounds on the internet after several Southern Indiana elementary school students sang their rendition of it.
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Emmy Bodner, Clarksville Elementary School’s music teacher, orchestrated the music video and recorded her students’ majestic voices as they belted out to reach all the notes. She shared:
“The kids don’t really have anything tangible to remember this year, and they’ve not gotten to be together.”
Due to the pandemic, the students did not have their annual musical and Christmas play, as well as other exciting activities the kids usually look forward to.
Around the same time the video was released, another elementary school student from Kentucky went viral for singing the national anthem.
To maintain safety amongst the school community, such events were canceled and moved to the following year. However, it was clear that the students enjoyed their performance.
Professional audio engineer and a father to two of the Clarksville students, Michael Sanders, helped with the song’s recording. He said:
“This project was brought about to not only give the kids something to look forward to but also the kids could do something for the people in the community…”
The children were undoubtedly successful in touching the hearts of nearly one million viewers since their YouTube video was uploaded in May.
Around the same time the video was released, another elementary school student from Kentucky went viral for singing the national anthem.
Bates Elementary School’s very own DCorey Johnson appeared on the school’s Facebook page with his rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner” and gained viewers from people across the country.
“I never got to sing the national anthem before, but now they want me to sing at a baseball and football [game], and at a school and everywhere, and I’m like ‘Oh, my Jesus!'” the student shared.
Children certainly have a special effect on others that just make things pure. Most recently, another group of children hit the headlines for singing the national anthem in a restaurant as soon as they saw a veteran having lunch.
Their sweet gesture of paying tribute to the elderly man brought tears to his eyes and had the whole restaurant smiling.