Ariana Grande releases Somewhere Over the Rainbow as charity single

Ariana Grande has released her Somewhere Over the Rainbow cover from the One Love Manchester benefit show as a single to raise funds for victims of the city's terror attack.

The 23-year-old singer was overcome with emotion as she belted out the heartfelt tune to close the charity concert at the Emirates Old Trafford cricket ground in England on Sunday night (04Jun17).

Thousands of fans called for her to release her version of The Wizard of Oz classic, with pleas including a tweet which read, "You are such an inspiration. PLEASE record and release Somewhere Over The Rainbow as a charity single. Number 1 hit. 100 per cent", and Ariana dropped the tune officially on multiple streaming platforms including Apple, Spotify and Tidal on Tuesday.

According to Pitchfork Media, any money raised from the sale of the tune will go straight to those affected by the bombing at Ariana's gig in Manchester in May, which killed 22 and injured more than 100 people.

The song features on the One Love Manchester album, a collection of the 39 songs performed by stars including Miley Cyrus, Katy Perry and Justin Bieber at the benefit gig.

Ariana's decision to release the cover song comes after she also re-released her 2014 hit One Last Time, which she also performed live at the concert, as a charity single.

Money donated during the One Love Manchester gig brought the total raised to more than $12 million (£9.2 million), with the money going to the British Red Cross’ Manchester Emergency Fund, which is helping those injured or affected by the attack.

News of the charity single also came after Ariana took to her social media to share a moving video of a baby crying while watching her performance of Somewhere Over the Rainbow. The Side to Side star posted the footage on her Instagram page and left it caption free, apart from numerous heart emojis. musicnews.com