One Direction, Lorde, Pharrell Williams, Coldplay, Stevie Wonder and More Cover "God Only Knows"

BBC Music kicks off with a charity single featuring the talents of Florence + the Machine, Kylie Minogue, Emeli Sandé and Sam Smith

By Zach Johnson Oct 08, 2014 12:47 PMTags

Talk about a killer kickoff! To celebrate the launch of BBC Music (and to raise money for charity), many musicians from around the globe banded together to cover The Beach Boys' 1966 hit "God Only Knows."

Backed by the BBC Concert Orchestra, performers included Alison Balsom, Martin James Bartlett, Nicola Benedetti, Jake Bugg, Eliza Carthy, Coldplay, Jamie Cullum, Danielle de Niese, Jaz Dhami, Paloma Faith, Florence + the Machine, Dave Grohl, Jools Holland, Chrissie Hynde, Elton John, Lauren Laverne, Lorde, Zane Lowe, Baaba Maal, Gareth Malone, Brian May, Kylie Minogue, One Direction, Emeli Sandé, Sam Smith, Tees Valley Youth Choir, Pharrell Williams, Brian Wilson and Stevie Wonder.

"All of the artists did such a beautiful job, I can't thank them enough," Wilson 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." May added, "Once you start going into a song like we have been today, you come up on a new respect. It's beautifully constructed, and quite enigmatic."

The BBC has created a charity single of the song to raise money for its BBC Children in Need campaign. A physical copy of the CD is available for purchase in the U.K. and on Amazon.

The BBC made a similar music video in 1997, remaking Lou Reed's "Perfect Day." The broadcaster recruited Bono, David Bowie, Boyzone, Emmylou Harris, Tom Jones and Tammy Wynette, among others. John, 67, is the only performer to appear in the "Perfect Day" and "God Only Knows" videos.