Simon Cowell, puts a cork on his notorious “heartlessness” and “thoughtlessness,” characteristics attributed to him due to his “ American Idol” judge persona, to lead an all-star ensemble in the recording of an emotional cover of R.E.M.s’ classic, “ Everybody Hurts,” for Haiti relief operations.

Following a catastrophic magnitude 7.0 earthquake on Jan. 12, the death toll in Haiti has already reached an estimated 250,000; the same number are in need of urgent help and over 2 million people are said to be homeless and would need help to rebuild their lives.

Music celebrities reportedly lending their support to the project include Mariah Carey, Jon Bon Jovi, Robbie Williams, Rod Stewart, Leona Lewis, Miley Cyrus, Take That,  Michael Bublé, James Blunt, Susan Boyle and Westlife, among others.

Proceeds from the single will be split between the DEC (Disasters Emergency Committee) and The Sun Newspaper’s “Helping Haiti” appeal. It has been reported that “Everybody Hurts,” the charity single, will have a UK release on Feb. 7 for the digital album and Feb. 8 for the CD.

“The Sun” has reported that UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown will waive VAT on the record to maximize its revenues while R.E.M.’s manager said the band is waiving all royalties for the song.

Other charity singles have been successfully in raising awareness and bringing in much needed relief funds in the past.

In 1984, Boomtown Rats leader Bob Geldof and Utravox frontman Midge Ure wrote and produced “Do They Know It’s Christmas,” recorded by supergroup, Band Aid, and released in November of that year to raise money for famine relief in Ethiopia.

Band Aid consisted of the biggest names in ‘80s new wave music scene like Spandau Ballet, Duran Duran, Kool & the Gang, Culture Club, Queen, Phil Collins, U2’s Bono and Adam Clayton, George Michael, David Bowie, Paul McCartney and so many others.

It also led to Live Aid, a multi-venue rock concert held in July of 1985, organized by Geldof and Ure for the same beneficiary.  Held simultaneously in Wembley Stadium in London (attended by 82,000 people), JFK Stadium in Philadelphia (pulling in about 99,000 people) and other venues across the globe, it became one of the largest-scale satellite link-ups and television broadcasts of all time with an estimated 400 million viewers across 60 countries.

Also in 1985 and taking its cue from UK’s success with the Band Aid single, Michael Jackson, in tandem with singer/songwriter Lionel Richie, got the ball rolling on “We Are The World” to benefit African famine relief.

The Jan. 28, 1985 recording brought together the most famous artists in the recording industry at the time—from Diana Ross, Stevie Wonder, Ray Charles, Billie Joel, Tina Turner and Willie Nelson to Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, Al Jarreau, Cyndi Lauper, Steve Perry and many others. While Michael Jackson appeared front and center of the project, it is interesting to note that Geldof also made an appearance here, as with actors Dan Aykroyd and Bette Midler.

"We Are the World" was eventually named the biggest selling single of all time and by 2009, has sold more than 20 million units and raised over $63 million for humanitarian aid in Africa and the US.