Ariana Grande and Justin Bieber‘s 2020 charity collaboration “Stuck With U” has raised $3.5 million for the First Responders Children’s Foundation.
The two pop stars released their COVID-19 lockdown ballad on May 8, 2020. In working with their manager Scooter Braun’s SB Projects and their labels Def Jam Recordings (Bieber) and Republic Records (Grande), the team donated 100% of the proceeds from the song’s streams and sales to the foundation. The First Responders Children’s Foundation redirected the funds to thousands of families of first responders, including healthcare workers, paramedics, firefighters and EMTs who have fought the pandemic on the frontlines for the last year and a half.
“As the world was shutting down, we were looking for ways we could make a tangible impact as it has always been Scooter’s priority that SB Projects and our artists give back,” Shauna Nep, vice president of philanthropy for SB Projects, said in a statement. “We were so thrilled to partner with the First Responders Children’s Foundation who have been supporting those on the frontlines of the pandemic, as well as their families. Over a year later, we are so proud to see how much has been raised and what has been accomplished. We thank the Foundation for their leadership and commitment to this work.”
The First Responders Children’s Foundation will specifically allocate the money for scholarships for children, temporary housing for self-quarantine purposes and funerals of first responders and their family members who died of COVID-19.
“The generosity, and support that Ariana Grande, Justin Bieber and Scooter Braun have shown the men and women on the front lines of this ongoing pandemic has been a surreal and humbling experience for us,” added Jillian Crane, president of First Responders Children’s Foundation. “As an organization, we have been able to help the everyday heroes who have been on the frontlines of the pandemic, and their family’s immediate needs with the support that has only been made possible due to the collective effort of everyone involved, which we are thankful for.”
The single debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, marking Bieber’s sixth chart-topper and Grande’s third. “Stuck with U” also sold 108,000 downloads in its first week, according to Nielsen Music/MRC Data, becoming the first song to crack the 100,000-sold marker in a single week since Taylor Swift’s “Me!,” featuring Brendon Urie, in May 2019.
The homemade accompanying visual featured Bieber and Grande with their respective partners Hailey Bieber and Dalton Gomez, as well as Demi Lovato, Kendall and Kylie Jenner, Kim Kardashian, Kanye West, Chance the Rapper, Michael Bublé, Jaden Smith and many more. “Stuck with U” also won awards for best music video from home at the 2020 MTV Video Music Awards and favorite music collaboration at the 2021 Kids’ Choice Awards.
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