In the grand tradition of “We Are the World,†celebrity musicians crossed genre lines to band together on Last Week Tonight to address an issue near to their hearts: politicians using their music without permission. Spurred by Donald Trump’s recent unauthorized use of Queen’s “We Are the Champions†and the Rolling Stones’s “You Can’t Always Get What You Want,†a supergroup made up of Usher, Sheryl Crow, Cyndi Lauper, Michael Bolton, Josh Groban, John Mellencamp, Dan Reynolds, Ann Wilson, and Nancy Wilson joined their voices for an original song titled “Don’t Use Our Song†at the end of John Oliver’s late-night program. Armed with a green screen, the singers rang their voices proudly in front of American flags, Mount Rushmore, baseball stadiums, farms, and, in honor of the RNC, hundreds of falling balloons, as they belted, “It might seem appealing, but you’re just stealing.†Really, the USA might have just found a new National Anthem, if only it could get the licensing rights.
