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On a sunny morning in early March, Laurent Ban recalled a rainy day in February when he was preparing to record a song with his fellow musicians in a studio in Paris, to send a message of support to the people in China.
News of the coronavirus outbreak in China reached France in late January. Ban, a French singer, was shocked to see the country he had visited so many times hit so hard by the virus.
Ban travels a lot around the world, often spending months in China. "This is the country which I visited most often during my career. I met a lot of people there. This is the first time in recent years that I'm not in China for the beginning of a new year," he said.
"I know there are great and experienced doctors in the world, especially in China, who are able and qualified to fight the virus. But I'm not a doctor -- I'm a musician," he added.
How could a musician help the fight against the virus, he asked himself. Writing and recording a song dedicated to the people he had shared so many memories with seemed to be the natural answer.
This is how the song "Together" was born. It was written by his composer friend Christophe Houssin and performed by 40 European singers.
"I called up my friends. They agreed to do this with me. The problem is that 40 people were involved. It was difficult to find a day when all of them could come together. Finally, we met in a studio in February," Ban said.
"Come, together we can find the way. Love, that pulls me to the sunny sky. (...) I would so love to hug you now. It's just a matter of time. I know we'll meet again much faster than you think," the lyrics read.
"Together" was written to show that there is hope in difficult times and that we all live on the same planet together, according to Houssin, who composed the song and wrote the lyrics in just a few days.
Chiara Di Bari, one of the artists who joined Ban, was thinking about the landscapes that she discovered in China while she was singing "Together."
"I stayed in Beijing for some time when I was a little girl. I was so happy to go back with my family and my children to rediscover the city several years later," she said.
"I understand very well that the first reaction (to the virus outbreak) is to be scared. But I think our mind and love are more powerful than fear," she said.
"I believe that the virus will be defeated. People all around the world are working on this. It will be defeated. Now we must be together, as the song says," she said.
"I think about my kids and I'm scared for them. I just want them to be safe and healthy," said Ban. "We just have to have faith and hope in the future. I'm sure we are going to overcome the virus."
