Make Some Noise is a campaign by Amnesty International that uses music by

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...

to promote

human rights Human rights are moral principles or normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for certain standards of hu ...

. Well-known artists produce covers of solo-era

songs exclusively for Amnesty International.

Yoko Ono Yoko Ono ( ; ja, 小野洋子, Ono Yōko, usually spelled in katakana ; born February 18, 1933) is a Japanese multimedia artist, singer, songwriter, and peace activist. Her work also encompasses performance art and filmmaking. Ono grew up i ...

, widow of John Lennon, donated the recording rights{{Citation needed, date=July 2007 to "Imagine" and John Lennon's entire solo songbook to Amnesty International. Amnesty has since used the rights to encourage new versions of Lennon's songs to be recorded by artists such as

R.E.M. R.E.M. was an American rock band from Athens, Georgia, formed in 1980 by drummer Bill Berry, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills, and lead vocalist Michael Stipe, who were students at the University of Georgia. One of the first alternati ...

, U2, Green Day,

The Black Eyed Peas Black Eyed Peas (also known as The Black Eyed Peas) is an American musical group consisting of rappers will.i.am, apl.de.ap, Taboo. The group's line-up during the height of their popularity in the 2000s featured Fergie, who replaced Kim Hi ...

The Cure The Cure are an English rock band formed in 1978 in Crawley, West Sussex. Throughout numerous lineup changes since the band's formation, guitarist, lead vocalist, and songwriter Robert Smith has remained the only constant member. The band's ...

The Flaming Lips The Flaming Lips are an American psychedelic rock band formed in 1983 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The band currently consists of Wayne Coyne (vocals, guitar, keyboards), Steven Drozd (guitars, keyboards, bass, drums, vocals), Derek Brown (k ...

, Snow Patrol,

The Postal Service The Postal Service are an American indie pop supergroup from Seattle, Washington, consisting of singer Ben Gibbard, producer Jimmy Tamborello, and Jenny Lewis on background vocals. The band released their only album, '' Give Up'', in 2003 on S ...

, Maroon 5,

Audrey de Montigny Audrey De Montigny (born July 26, 1985) is a Canadian former singer. She placed fourth on the debut season of ''Canadian Idol''. De Montigny was nominated for a 2005 Juno Award for her eponymous debut album. Career Her career began in 2003, ...

and

Steve Barakatt Steve Barakatt (born May 17, 1973) is a Canadian composer, music producer, pianist, singer and creative director. He was made a Knight of the National Order of Quebec in 2020 and he is a former National Ambassador of UNICEF Canada. Early years ...

. The global launch of ''Make Some Noise'' took place on 10 December 2005,

International Human Rights Day Human Rights Day is celebrated annually around the world on 10 December every year. The date was chosen to honor the United Nations General Assembly's adoption and proclamation, on 10 December 1948, of the Universal Declaration of Human Right ...

, with the release of four exclusive singles available as digital downloads. A fundraising album, '' Instant Karma: The Amnesty International Campaign to Save Darfur'', followed.

Artists and songs

Artists participating in ''Make Some Noise'' were involved in the promotion of human rights. These covers are several of Lennon's best-known solo-era songs. CD 1 * U2: Instant Karma *

: #9 Dream *

Christina Aguilera Christina María Aguilera (; ; born December 18, 1980) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and television personality. Known for her four-octave vocal range and ability to sustain high notes, she has been referred to as the " Voice of ...

: Mother * Aerosmith Give Peace a Chance * Lenny Kravitz: Cold Turkey *

: Love *

Corinne Bailey Rae Corinne Jacqueline Bailey Rae (; born 26 February 1979) is an English singer and songwriter. She is best known for her 2006 single "Put Your Records On". Bailey Rae was named the number-one predicted breakthrough act of 2006 in an annual BBC po ...

: I'm Losing You (live) *

Jakob Dylan Jakob Luke Dylan (born December 9, 1969) is an American singer-songwriter. He rose to fame as the lead singer and primary songwriter for the rock band the Wallflowers. Born in New York City to musician Bob Dylan and model Sara Lownds, Dylan be ...

& *

Dhani Harrison Dhani Harrison (; born 1 August 1978) is an English musician, composer and singer-songwriter. He is the only child of George and Olivia Harrison. Dhani debuted as a professional musician assisting in recording his father's final album, ''Brainw ...

: Gimme Some Truth * Jackson Browne: Oh, My Love *

The Raveonettes The Raveonettes are a Danish indie rock duo, consisting of Sune Rose Wagner on guitar, instruments and vocals, and Sharin Foo on bass, guitar and vocals. Their music is characterized by close two-part vocal harmonies inspired by The Everly Br ...

: One Day At A Time * Avril Lavigne: Imagine *

Big & Rich Big & Rich is an American country music duo composed of Big Kenny and John Rich, both of whom are songwriters, vocalists, and guitarists. Before the duo's foundation, Rich was bass guitarist in the country band Lonestar, while Kenny was a solo ...

: Nobody Told Me * Eskimo Joe: Mind Games *

Youssou N'Dour Youssou N'Dour (, wo, Yuusu Nduur; also known as Youssou Madjiguène Ndour; born 1 October 1959) is a Senegalese singer, songwriter, musician, composer, occasional actor, businessman, and politician. In 2004, ''Rolling Stone'' magazine describe ...

: Jealous Guy CD 2 * Green Day: Working Class Hero *

: Power To The People * Jack Johnson: Imagine *

Ben Harper Benjamin Chase Harper (born October 28, 1969) is an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Harper plays an eclectic mix of blues, folk, soul, reggae, and rock music and is known for his guitar-playing skills, vocals, live perfo ...

: Beautiful Boy * Snow Patrol: Isolation *

Matisyahu Matthew Paul Miller (born June 30, 1979), known by his stage name Matisyahu (; ), is an American reggae singer, rapper, beatboxer, and alternative rock musician. Known for blending spiritual themes with reggae, rock and hip hop beatboxing soun ...

: Watching The Wheels *

: Grow Old With Me * Jaguares: Gimme Some Truth (Spanish) *

: (Just Like) Starting Over *

Jack's Mannequin Jack's Mannequin was an American rock band formed in 2004, hailing from Orange County, California. The band originally began as a solo project for Andrew McMahon, the frontman of Something Corporate. The band was signed to Maverick Records and ...

feat. *

Mick Fleetwood Michael John Kells Fleetwood (born 24 June 1947) is a British musician, songwriter and occasional actor. He is best known as the drummer, co-founder, and leader of the rock band Fleetwood Mac. Fleetwood, whose surname was merged with that of t ...

: God * Duran Duran: Instant Karma * a-ha: #9 Dream *

Tokio Hotel Tokio Hotel is a German pop rock band, founded in 2001 by singer Bill Kaulitz, guitarist Tom Kaulitz, drummer Gustav Schäfer, and bassist Georg Listing. Their sound encompasses multiple genres, including pop rock, alternative rock, and electro ...

: Instant Karma *

Regina Spektor Regina Ilyinichna Spektor (russian: Регинa Ильинична Спектор, ; born February 18, 1980) is a Russian–born American singer, songwriter, and pianist. After self-releasing her first three records and gaining popularity in ...

: Real Love

Campaigns and actions

''Make Some Noise'' is encouraging people to take action in a number of campaigns: * ''10,000 paper cranes for freedom of expression in

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by ...

!'' Campaign to free prisoner of conscience Zmitser Dashkevich * ''Close Guantanamo now!'' campaign calls for individuals across the world to send in their videos add their voice to the global chorus calling for Guantanamo Bay to be closed now. * ''Protect the People of Darfur'' campaign invites people to join the actor

Don Cheadle Donald Frank Cheadle Jr. (; born November 29, 1964) is an American actor. He is the recipient of multiple accolades, including two Grammy Awards, a Tony Award, two Golden Globe Awards and two Screen Actors Guild Awards. He has also earned nom ...

and Snow Patrol in putting pressure on the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...

to send peace keeping forces to Darfur, *''Control Arms'' campaign asks individuals to add their face to the Million Faces petition calling for a Global Arms Trade Treaty.

External links

Amnesty International web site
Amnesty International 2005 compilation albums