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My Chemical Romance Team With Fans On 'Sing It For Japan'

Band will release charity version of latest single and fan-fueled video, with all proceeds going to Red Cross efforts.
By James Montgomery

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Photo: Samir Hussein/ Getty Images

My Chemical Romance have announced plans to release a charity version of their song "Sing," with all proceeds going to the Red Cross' disaster relief efforts in Japan. But they're not doing it alone. Instead, they're reaching out to members of their MCRmy to help the cause.

The band is asking fans to submit videos, pictures, drawings and written messages to the people of Japan through social sites like Twitter — using the hashtag #SINGItForJapan — which they'll then compile into a video to be paired with the song.

"We'd like to send messages of hope to Japan from people all over the world. ... Go wherever your creativity and heart takes you. It could be as simple as you holding up a sign with '#SINGItForJapan' written on it, or anything else you can dream up," guitarist Ray Toro wrote on the band's official site. "From what we've seen on tour, we know you guys can dream bigger than we ever could. Don't be afraid to get your families involved. If you are inspired to do something alone, that's great too. But we encourage you to get a big group of people from your community together. We want Japan to know just how many people are behind them."

Toro added that the band got the idea after noticing that, in the aftermath of the earthquake and tsunamis that ravaged Japan, fans were sending messages of support to the nation using the hashtag.

"After the news of the earthquake and tsunami spread, I did what most people did. I stopped and stared at the TV. I sat at the computer, constantly refreshing CNN in hopes of some good news," he wrote. "And I went to Twitter to see what people were saying. I noticed a hashtag, 'SINGItForJapan,' where you kids were writing messages of hope, saying prayers and sending your condolences and well wishes to survivors. It moved me in a profound way."

The deadline for submissions is Wednesday, March 30, at 8 p.m. ET. There's no news on just when the band's new version of "Sing" will be made available, but for more information — and to submit material for #SINGItForJapan — check out My Chemical Romance's official site.

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Justin Bieber Vintage Video: His First Meeting With Usher

Justin Timberlake also wanted to sign Bieber, 'Never Say Never' star said in 2009.
By Jocelyn Vena

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Photo: Brian Phares/MTV News

Just as the world was learning who Justin Bieber was, MTV News caught up with the shaggy-haired singer in September 2009. He was gearing up to release his debut album, My World, and plotting his pop-world domination. In the year and a half since that interview, Bieber has done the nearly impossible, launching himself into the pop mega-sphere.

In the chat, Bieber recalled how he and his manager, Scooter Braun, met and eventually got big names interested in signing the teen.

"My manager found me on YouTube. He flew me out to Atlanta for the first time — I'd never actually been on a plane before. He flew me to Atlanta where i was going to the studio to meet some people," he recalled.

"And Usher happened to roll up in his Range Rover. I ran up to him, and I was like, 'Usher, I love your songs. Want me to sing you one?' The politest possible way he could say no, he did. ... I took the hint. I didn't get to sing for him: He had to run into a studio session."

But later, Usher was beckoning the teen back to the ATL. "He actually watched my videos — after my manager got to talking to him — and was like, 'I should have let this kid sing,' and flew me back to Atlanta where I got to sing for him in a proper setting. A week later, I had a meeting with Justin Timberlake, who also wanted to sign me, so they both kind of wanted me."

As the story goes, Bieber went with Usher, and the two never looked back.

"As far as Usher being my mentor, he's definitely given me words of wisdom. I hear it from everybody, but definitely to hear it from Usher is great, just to stay humble and grounded is very important," he explained.

"There's a lot of people, especially young stars, that have gone down the wrong path, and I definitely plan to stay humble and stay grounded and keep my family first, because that stuff really is important in life."

On Friday, Justin Bieber's 3-D documentary, "Never Say Never," opens. The film takes a look at how the teen star worked to hit it big. MTV News has been chatting with him along the way, from the time he first burst on the scene in 2009 until now, as he embarks on a huge 2011 that will include a tour and more new music.

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