Ariana releases single for Manchester victims

The pop star continues to raise money for victims of the bombing – this time by releasing a recording from her benefit concert.

ARIANA Grande has released a live recording of her emotional performance of Somewhere Over the Rainbow as a single, with proceeds from sales of the track going to charity.

The 23-year-old star performed the famous Wizard of Oz song on Sunday at One Love Manchester, a benefit concert she organised following a suicide bombing at her concert at Manchester Arena on 22 May.

Twenty-two people were killed in the atrocity, which took place as fans were leaving the show. The youngest was eight years old.

The One Love event, held on Sunday, featured performances fromartists including Katy Perry, Justin Bieber and Coldplay, with a surprise appearance from Manchester’s own Liam Gallagher.

It raised more than £2.7m for the British Red Cross We Love Manchester Fund, taking the total past £10m by Monday. The fund was established for the victims of the concert attack and their families.

Those who attended Grande’s original show were offered free tickets and some injured fans left their hospital beds to attend. The star also visited victims of the attack in hospital.

Some 50,000 people attended the concert. Many in the crowd were moved to tears by performances that included a duet between Grande and local schoolchildren.

It took place less than 24 hours after a knife and vehicle attack killed at least eight people at London Bridge, the second major incident to hit the UK in as many weeks.

Enhanced security was added in response to the potential threat, but organisers expressed defiance in the face of further attacks.

“The only thing we can do now is choose how we let this affect us and how we live our lives from here on out,” Grande said in a statement on Twitter.

“Music is meant to heal us, to bring us together, to make us happy. So that is what it will continue to do for us.”

Grande’s single One More Time was also re-released following the attack, with some of the proceeds going towards the Red Cross Fund. It is currently in the running for the number one spot in the UK singles chart.

Somewhere Over the Rainbow, with artwork based on the One Love Manchester logo, became available to download on Spotify on Wednesday. news.sky.com