"Stranded (Haiti Mon Amour)"
Song by Jay-Z, Bono, The Edge and Rihanna
from the album Hope for Haiti Now
RecordedJanuary 2010
Length4:20 (studio version)
4:27 (live version)
LabelMTV
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)

"Stranded (Haiti Mon Amour)" is a song recorded by Jay-Z, Bono, The Edge and Rihanna for Hope for Haiti Now, a live album by various artists to benefit the campaign of the same name to alleviate the 2010 Haiti earthquake. The song was written by Jay-Z, The Edge and Bono and produced by Swizz Beatz.

Background

The 2010 Haiti earthquake was a catastrophic magnitude 7.0 Mw earthquake, with an epicenter near the town of Léogâne, approximately 25 km (16 miles) west of Port-au-Prince, Haiti's capital. The earthquake occurred at 16:53 local time (21:53 UTC) on Tuesday, 12 January 2010.[2][3] By 24 January, at least 52 aftershocks measuring 4.5 or greater had been recorded.[4] An estimated three million people were affected by the quake;[5] the Haitian government reported that an estimated 316,000 people had died,[6] 300,000 had been injured and 1,000,000 made homeless.[7][8] The government of Haiti also estimated that 250,000 residences and 30,000 commercial buildings had collapsed or were severely damaged.[9] The earthquake caused major damage in Port-au-Prince, Jacmel and other settlements in the region. Many notable landmark buildings were significantly damaged or destroyed, including the Presidential Palace, the National Assembly building, the Port-au-Prince Cathedral, and the main jail. Among those killed were Archbishop of Port-au-Prince Joseph Serge Miot,[10] and opposition leader Micha Gaillard.[11][12] The headquarters of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH), located in the capital, collapsed, killing many, including the Mission's Chief, Hédi Annabi.[13][14]

Many countries responded to appeals for humanitarian aid, pledging funds and dispatching rescue and medical teams, engineers and support personnel. Communication systems, air, land, and sea transport facilities, hospitals, and electrical networks had been damaged by the earthquake, which hampered rescue and aid efforts; confusion over who was in charge, air traffic congestion, and problems with prioritisation of flights further complicated early relief work. Port-au-Prince's morgues were overwhelmed with tens of thousands of bodies. These had to be buried in mass graves.[15] As rescues tailed off, supplies, medical care and sanitation became priorities. Delays in aid distribution led to angry appeals from aid workers and survivors, and looting and sporadic violence were observed. On 22 January the United Nations noted that the emergency phase of the relief operation was drawing to a close, and on the following day the Haitian government officially called off the search for survivors.

Writing and recording

The genesis of the song came with Jay-Z collaborator Swizz Beatz sending simultaneous text messages to Jay-Z and Bono.[16] They agreed to collaborate on a single, and Bono wrote the hook for "Stranded" while on the phone with Beatz.[16] The latter said, "The idea of the song is 'We're not gonna leave you stranded' and that's what the chorus is. So me and Bono started going back and forth with ideas, and he was like, 'You know this word stranded keeps standing out to me' and I asked him to sing it, and he put me on hold 'cause he's recording the ideas on a Dictaphone — so he did it there and then on the phone."[16] Bono and The Edge then did further writing work on it together.[17]

The recording was done over diverse geographic locations and melded together, with The Edge helping out with extra production work.[16] Beatz then added Rihanna into the effort, later saying, "I knew that Jay would be able to tell a story, and that Bono would be able to sing and bring it home. The last component that I added was Rihanna, and she's kinda like the angel that's on the track, softening it up and giving it that caring feeling, because this hook is so powerful."[16] The final recording was produced by Beatz and Declan Gaffney.[17][18] In the song, Jay-Z narrates the tale, invoking questions of religion and government while urging action and resolve.[17] Bono and Rihanna sing the vocal hook, with Rihanna taking the lead.[17][19]

Promotion and release

"Stranded (Haiti Mon Amour)" was debuted and first performed live in London on 22 January 2010, and was shown hours later as part of the Hope for Haiti Now: A Global Benefit for Earthquake Relief telethon.[16][20] The performance also featured The Edge on guitar and was one of the more upbeat ones of the event.[17]

"Stranded (Haiti Mon Amour)" was released to the UK iTunes Store on 23 January 2010. All profits from the sales will go towards the Hope For Haiti Now campaign. It is Rihanna's second charity single for the Haiti campaign (a take on "Redemption Song" being the first). Also, an album Hope for Haiti Now, including the live performance and the studio version, was released to iTunes on the same date.[17]

Critical reception

The New York Times felt that the artists behind "Stranded (Haiti Mon Amour)" deserved credit for creating an original song for the occasion but that the results were of mixed quality: "The sound was muddy, and the concept undercooked, but it was an implicit acknowledgment that a situation this dire demanded something more than squeezing meaning out of a pre-existing song that lacks it."[21] Ann Powers of the Los Angeles Times said the song's performance was the most newsworthy of the event, and described its musical flavoring as partly derived from the 1995 U2 side project Passengers and partly derived from modern rap.[19] The Hartford Courant described it as the most high-powered combination of the telethon, but said that Bono did not seem fully integrated into the performance.[22]

Chart performance

On 27 January 2010, the song debuted on the Norwegian Singles Chart at number six. It also debuted at number 16 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and number six on the Canadian Hot 100.[23] On 28 January 2010, 'Stranded (Haiti Mon Amour)' debuted on the Irish Singles Chart at number three. The following day, the song made yet another appearance, this time on the Swedish Singles Chart same at number three. On 31 January 2010, the song entered the UK Singles Chart at number 41 and UK Indie Chart at number three. It has also made appearances on the Belgian Singles Charts, Danish Singles Chart, Finnish Singles Chart and Spanish Singles Chart with all of the positions currently peaking within the top 40.

Charts

Chart (2010) Peak
position
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[24] 10
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[25] 39
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[26] 6
Denmark (Tracklisten)[27] 36
European Hot 100 Singles (Billboard)[28] 26
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[29] 14
Ireland (IRMA)[30] 3
Italy (FIMI)[31] 10
Norway (VG-lista)[32] 6
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[33] 30
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[34] 3
UK Singles (OCC)[35] 41
US Billboard Hot 100[36] 16

References

  1. ↑ "Stranded (Haiti Mon Amour)". 881318764. American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP). Retrieved 2012-08-80.
  2. ↑ "USGS Magnitude 7.0 – HAITI REGION". Archived from the original on 15 January 2010. Retrieved 13 January 2010.
  3. ↑ Millar, Lisa (17 January 2010). "Tens of thousands isolated at quake epicentre". ABC News. Archived from the original on 20 January 2010. Retrieved 18 January 2010.
  4. ↑ "As Haiti mourns, quake survivor found in rubble". New York Daily Times. 24 January 2010. Archived from the original on 27 April 2011. Retrieved 1 February 2011.
  5. ↑ "Red Cross: 3M Haitians Affected by Quake". CBS News. 13 January 2010. Archived from the original on 20 January 2010. Retrieved 13 January 2010.
  6. ↑ Haiti raises quake death toll on anniversary CBC News, 12 January 2011
  7. ↑ "Haiti raises earthquake toll to 230,000". The Washington Post. AP. 10 February 2010. Retrieved 30 April 2010.
  8. ↑ "Haiti will not die, President Rene Preval insists". BBC News. 12 February 2010. Archived from the original on 13 February 2010. Retrieved 12 February 2010.
  9. ↑ Clarens Renois (5 February 2010). "Haitians angry over slow aid". Melbourne: The Age. Archived from the original on 7 February 2010. Retrieved 5 February 2010.
  10. ↑ "Archbishop of Port-Au-Prince Dies in Haiti Quake". The Times of India. Associated Press. 14 January 2010. Archived from the original on March 30, 2010. Retrieved 5 February 2011.
  11. ↑ "Boschafter: Mehrere Minister unter den Toten" (in German). Deutsche Presse-Agentur. 15 January 2010. Archived from the original on 18 January 2010. Retrieved 15 January 2010.
  12. ↑ "Haiti After The Quake". Thaindian News. 17 January 2010. Archived from the original on 31 January 2010. Retrieved 20 January 2010.
  13. ↑ "Briefing by Martin Nesirky, Spokesperson for the Secretary-General, and Jean Victor Nkolo, Spokesperson for the President of the General Assembly". United Nations. 13 January 2010. Retrieved 13 January 2010.
  14. ↑ "Clinton visits quake-hit Haitians". BBC News. 16 January 2010. Archived from the original on 19 January 2010. Retrieved 16 January 2010.
  15. ↑ "Haiti: bilancio del terremoto, 111.499 vittime". Corriere della Sera. 22 January 2010. Retrieved 23 January 2010.
  16. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Hiatt, Brian (2010-01-21). "Inside the Recording of Bono and Jay-Z's Haiti Single 'Stranded'". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on January 24, 2010.
  17. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Reid, Shaheem (2010-01-22). "Jay-Z, U2, Rihanna Team Up For Haiti Telethon". MTV News.
  18. ↑ "'Stranded (Haiti Mon Amour)' raising funds for Haiti". U2.com. Retrieved 2010-01-22.
  19. 1 2 Powers, Ann (2010-01-23). "Shining moments in Haiti telethon". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2010-01-23.
  20. ↑ "Stars line up for Haiti benefit concert". BBC News. 2010-01-22. Retrieved 2010-01-22.
  21. ↑ Caramanica, Jon (2010-01-23). "In Song, Trying to Convey the Scope of a Tragedy". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-01-23.
  22. ↑ Catlin, Roger (2010-01-23). "Hope for Haiti Now". The Hartford Courant. Archived from the original on 2012-07-07. Retrieved 2009-01-23.
  23. ↑ "Hot 100". Billboard. February 2010. Retrieved 2010-01-28.
  24. ↑ "Jay-Z, Bono, The Edge & Rihanna – Stranded (Haiti mon amour)" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
  25. ↑ "Jay-Z, Bono, The Edge & Rihanna – Stranded (Haiti mon amour)" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  26. ↑ "jay-z Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard.
  27. ↑ "Jay-Z, Bono, The Edge & Rihanna – Stranded (Haiti mon amour)". Tracklisten.
  28. ↑ "rihanna – Chart Search" Billboard European Hot 100 Singles for rihanna.
  29. ↑ "Jay-Z, Bono, The Edge & Rihanna: Stranded (Haiti mon amour)" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat.
  30. ↑ "Chart Track: Week 4, 2010". Irish Singles Chart.
  31. ↑ "Jay-Z, Bono, The Edge & Rihanna – Stranded (Haiti mon amour)". Top Digital Download.
  32. ↑ "Jay-Z, Bono, The Edge & Rihanna – Stranded (Haiti mon amour)". VG-lista.
  33. ↑ "Jay-Z, Bono, The Edge & Rihanna – Stranded (Haiti mon amour)" Canciones Top 50.
  34. ↑ "Jay-Z, Bono, The Edge & Rihanna – Stranded (Haiti mon amour)". Singles Top 100.
  35. ↑ "Jay-z / Bono / Edge / Rihanna: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company.
  36. ↑ "jay-z Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
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