"Just Stand Up!" is a song featuring the vocals of an all-star group of pop/R&B/rock/country performers, including Mariah Carey, Beyoncé, Mary J. Blige, Rihanna, Fergie, Sheryl Crow, Melissa Etheridge, Natasha Bedingfield, Miley Cyrus, Leona Lewis, Carrie Underwood, Keyshia Cole, LeAnn Rimes, Ashanti and Ciara. This group purposely was billed as Artists Stand Up to Cancer to the public. American songwriter and producer Antonio "L.A." Reid conceived the collaboration after a meeting with the founder of Stand Up to Cancer, which will benefit from the proceeds of the record. Reid co-produced the track with American singer Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds, and the single was released on August 21, 2008.

The singers performed the song live on the "Stand Up to Cancer" telethon which aired simultaneously on ABC, CBS and NBC on September 5.

The single was re-released on September 30, 2008 with the original recording, as well as the audio of the live performance. The CD was enhanced so it had special features for a computer.

The singers

• Mariah Carey
• Beyoncé
• Carrie Underwood
• Rihanna
• Sheryl Crow (not in live version: Nicole Scherzinger sang her lines)
• Fergie
• Leona Lewis
• Keyshia Cole
• LeAnn Rimes (not in live version: Natasha Bedingfield sang her lines)
• Natasha Bedingfield
• Ciara
• Melissa Etheridge (not in live version: Leona Lewis sang her lines)
• Mary J. Blige
• Ashanti
• Miley Cyrus

Live performance

The live performance was on "Stand Up 2 Cancer" event in September 5, 2008 aired by multiple channels. All the original artists appeared for the performance, except LeAnn Rimes, Sheryl Crow and Melissa Etheridge, with the addition of Nicole Scherzinger from the Pussycat Dolls singing the parts of Sheryl Crow. The song was a little bit different in the performance than the original song available to download. The live performance video is available on iTunes.

Fergie Controversy

During the live peformance there was some confusion as to whether Fergie received a standing ovation during her part. But infact the audience was actually standing up because the words Just Stand Up! appeared on the screen, albeit not visible to the viewers at home. One columnist at the Boston Globe poked fun at the incident by saying and not one of them could sit down. Forbes Magazine pointed out that the only standing ovation was after the performance, which lasted about 10 minutes . Fans on website pointed out that on the song and during the live performance Fergie sang with a fake Jamaican accent .

Charts

The song debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 at 78 on the week of September 13. The next week it had the greatest sales gainer and jumped 67 places to land at number 11. Unfortunately, it fell far down the next week to number 36. It has also peaked on the Pop 100 chart at 18. On the UK Singles chart, it debuted at number 39, before shooting up the chart to number 26, becoming its new peak. Also on the Canadian Hot 100 chart it has made a Hot Shot Debut at number 10 in the week of September 11.

Chart (2008)	Peak position
Australian ARIA Singles Chart	39
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	11
U.S. Billboard Pop 100	18
U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs	83
Canadian Hot 100	10
UK Singles Chart	26
Irish Singles Chart	11
Italian FIMI Singles Chart	3
Euro Top 200 Chart	82
Swedish Singles Chart	51
Japan Hot 100	85

References