When Lorde, Brian Wilson, Dave Grohl, Florence Welch and a variety of other artists get together to sing The Beach Boys classic "God Only Knows," there's obviously something big to announce.
The BBC gathered the singers for a star-studded video to unveil BBC Music, which the company describes as "an ambitious wave of new programmes, innovative partnerships and ground-breaking music initiatives that amount to the BBC's strongest commitment to music in 30 years," The Guardian reports. Each artist only sings a fraction of the 1966 song, which Pharrell Williams kicks off in the video below. The full roster goes as such: Brian Wilson, Sir Elton John, One Direction, Stevie Wonder, Pharrell Williams, Jake Bugg, Lorde, Emeli Sandé, Chris Martin, Kylie Minogue, Paloma Faith, Sam Smith, Florence Welch, Chrissie Hynde, Brian May, Dave Grohl, Alison Balsom, Martin James Bartlett, Danielle de Niese, Nicola Benedetti, Eliza Carthy, Baaba Maal, Jamie Cullum and Jaz Dhami. Some BBC personalities like Zane Lowe make an appearance as well as the BBC Concert Orchestra.
In 1997, the BBC pulled a similar stunt using Lou Reed's "Perfect Day," which started as just an advertisement before it was released as a single and its profits donated to BBC's Children in Need. The "God Only Knows" performance will raise money for the same charity.
"All of the artists did such a beautiful job, I can't thank them enough," Brian Wilson, the song's writer, told The Guardian. "I'm just honored that 'God Only Knows' was chosen. 'God Only Knows' is a very special song. An extremely spiritual song and one of the best I've ever written."
"God Only Knows" appeared on The Beach Boys' groundbreaking album Pet Sounds. The song was named Pitchfork's Greatest Song of The 1960s.
