Lionel Richie on why he didn’t include Madonna in We Are the World lineup

Lionel Richie has recently confessed his mistake for not adding Madonna in We Are the World lineup.

“I'm gonna say this now on national and international television — you're right,” said Lionel when asked about not featuring Madonna in the 1985 hit lineup.

During an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! show, the Hello hit-maker explained why he included Cyndi Lauper instead of Madonna on the song.

“It's probably one of the most interesting questions in the world because we had only a half a line to sing. Let me say this now, a half a line,” said Lionel.

The R&B legend continued, “So, we had to have voices that people knew right away. And so, for whatever reason, and by the way, we didn't know whether Cyndi was coming.”

“Because after the show I said to Cyndi, 'Are you coming?' And she said, 'I spoke to my boyfriend and he says he doesn't say it's a hit.' And I said, 'Don't miss this session,' and she showed up and killed it,” remarked the musician.

Lionel added, “The point is, you have to have an identifiable voice. Whatever reason, Cyndi had that...that was it.”

Earlier in January, a new Netflix documentary,The Greatest Night in Pop, was released which shared an insight into making of We Are the World song.

For the unversed, this was a charity track in support of African famine relief in Ethiopia.

Meanwhile, Lionel and Michael Jackson wrote the track together while singers like Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, Stevie Wonder, Paul Simon, Kenny Rogers, Tina Turner, Billy Joel, Diana Ross, Willie Nelson, Ray Charles and Bette Midler lend their vocals to the song.