"We Are Here" is a song by American recording artist

Alicia Keys Alicia Augello Cook (born January 25, 1981), known professionally as Alicia Keys, is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. A classically trained pianist, Keys started composing songs when she was 12 and was signed at 15 years old by Col ...

. It was written and produced by Keys,

Swizz Beatz Kasseem Daoud Dean (born September 13, 1978), known professionally as Swizz Beatz, is an American record producer, rapper, disc jockey (DJ) and songwriter. Born and raised in New York City, Dean embarked on his musical career as a DJ. At the ag ...

Mark Batson Mark Batson is an American producer, musician and songwriter. He has worked on albums by artists including Alicia Keys, Dave Matthews Band, LeAnn Rimes, Anthony Hamilton, Eminem, India Arie, 50 Cent, Jay-Z, Maroon 5, Skylar Grey, Grace Pott ...

, and Harold Lilly. The song debuted on Keys' Facebook page on September 8, 2014, accompanied by a text post explaining Keys' motivations and inspirations for the song. An up-tempo ballad, "We Are Here" describes Keys' frustration with both national and international issues, including the conflict between Israel and Gaza and the outbreak of the Ebola virus, as well as problems with education and gun laws in the United States. It was released digitally a week later and Keys performed the song on ''

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'' on September 15. Following the song's release, Keys launched a movement, called the We Are Here Movement, calling for a more equal and just world. Some social issues that the movement promotes is ending poverty and oppression, rights for women and children, and environmental activism. On the site of the cause, people can read about and donate to 12 different groups, striving towards, among other things, improving gay rights, fighting racial inequity in the American justice system, and also her own organization, Keep a Child Alive. Keys donated $1 million of her own money divided equally amongst the 12 groups. "We Are Here" was featured in the short film ''We Rise''; that film was part of the

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's "Hotbed" exhibit about women's suffrage, which ran from November 3, 2017, to March 25, 2018.

Critical reception

"We Are Here" was nominated for "Best Song with a Message" award at the

2014 MTV Europe Music Awards The 2014 MTV EMAs (also known as the MTV Europe Music Awards) were held at The SSE Hydro, Glasgow, Scotland on 9 November 2014. This was the first time since 2003 when the awards were held in Scotland and the fifth time the United Kingdom has h ...

. ''

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'' rated the song two stars out of five and gave the song a negative review. The review stated that an attempt "to effect social change through song would hit if it weren't such an overwrought exercise in cliche. The midtempo cut attempts to unify, but its earnestness is embarrassing". ("We Are Here" reviewed by Steven J. Horowitz)

Music video

The music video of "We Are Here" premiered on Facebook on September 8, 2014, and was uploaded to

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on September 15, where it has since been viewed close to 8 million times. The video, which was directed by Art Johnson, is set on top of a skyscraper in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, with Keys playing the piano and singing. On the piano, the words "freedom" and "peace" are written multiple times. The video ends with the words "War is over if you want it".

Live performances

"We Are Here" was performed on ''

'' on September 15, 2014. During the performance, Keys was sitting behind a piano that read "Love". ''

Rap-Up ''Rap-Up'' is a magazine launched in 2001 by founder Devin Lazerine. The publication was originally a website devoted to hip hop, until Lazerine decided to pitch the possibility of a magazine to several publishers. The magazine is focused on the ...

'' commented that Keys "belted out the inspiring anthem". ''

Vibe ''Vibe'' is an American music and entertainment magazine founded by producers David Salzman and Quincy Jones. The publication predominantly features R&B and hip hop music artists, actors and other entertainers. After shutting down productio ...

'' wrote that Keys "let her voice scale high over the song". Robbie Daw of

Idolator An idolator is a practitioner of idolatry. Idolater or Idolator may also refer to: Books *''Os Idólatras'', 1968 Portuguese novel by Maria Judite de Carvalho Music * Idolator (website), an American music blog * ''Idolator'' (album), third album ...

said that Keys delivered a "touching performance" of the song. Keys sang "We Are Here" on the ''

Elvis Duran and the Morning Show Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the " King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. His ener ...

'' on September 17, 2014. Keys made a surprise appearance at the

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in Las Vegas on September 19, 2014 and performed "We Are Here". During the performance, pictures of people and their #WeAreHere messages were shown. On September 27, 2014 she performed the song together with Amir-Kanoon and

Idan Raichel Idan Raichel ( he, עידן רייכל, ; b. 12 September 1977) is an Israeli singer-songwriter and musician known for his "Idan Raichel Project" (Hebrew: ), distinctive for its fusion of electronics, traditional Hebrew texts, and diverse mus ...

onstage at the 2014

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. On September 29, 2014, Keys appeared on '' The View'' and performed "We Are Here". Keys performed "We Are Here" along with "

Empire State of Mind "Empire State of Mind" is a song performed by American rapper Jay-Z featuring American singer Alicia Keys from the former's 11th studio album, '' The Blueprint 3'' (2009). It was released on October 20, 2009. Produced by Al Shux, the song featur ...

" and " No One" at the 2014 ''We Can Survive'' Concert held at the

Hollywood Bowl The Hollywood Bowl is an amphitheatre in the Hollywood Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. It was named one of the 10 best live music venues in America by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine in 2018. The Hollywood Bowl is known for its distin ...

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on October 24, 2014. During an interview for Yahoo! Style, Keys performed a snippet of the song for

Joe Zee Joe Zee (born November 23, 1968) is a Hong Kong-born Canadian fashion stylist, journalist, and producer, known for ''Entertainment Tonight'' (1981), ''FABLife'' (2015) and ''Celebrity Style Story'' (2012). Zee served as creative director of ''Elle' ...

. Keys will perform "We Are Here" live at the

Track listing

Charts

References

{{NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Song 2014 singles Alicia Keys songs Contemporary R&B ballads Soul ballads RCA Records singles 2014 songs Songs written by Alicia Keys Songs written by Swizz Beatz Songs written by Harold Lilly (songwriter) Songs written by Mark Batson Song recordings produced by Swizz Beatz