Dionne Warwick Teams With Mya and Saweetie for World Peace Day Anthem 'One Heart Can Change the World'

Dionne Warwick is once again teaming up with musicians for a cause. The Grammy winner has recruited Mya and Saweetie for "One Heart Can Change the World," a new anthem set for release on International World Peace Day.

More than 40 years after Dionne Warwick collaborated with the most notable names in music for the hit charity anthem, “We Are the World,” the singer is set to release a new peace anthem, this time with the help of R&B/pop singer Mya and rapper Saweetie.

Dionne Warwick attending the 2026 Billboard Women In Music event at Hollywood Palladium on April 29, 2026 in Los Angeles, California | Source: Getty Images

The single, "One Heart Can Change the World," will be released in time for the 45th annual International World Peace Day, dedicated to "strengthening the ideals of peace both within and among all nations and peoples,” according to a press statement.

Also on board is Academy Award winner Forest Whitaker, who will be narrating the track. Whitaker, a United Nations Goodwill Ambassador who oversees the charity, Whitaker Peace and Development Initiative (WPDI), will be hosting a WPDI gala event on the same day the song will be released, September 25. Warwick, Mya, and Saweetie will be honored at the event, dubbed “Rise as One.”

In a press announcement, Whitaker stated, “In a world that longs for peace, it begins with a smile; from a smile hope takes flight,” adding, “One smile, one world, one heart.”

Grammy-winning violinist Miri Ben-Ari and sound healer Ana Netanel are also lending their talents on the single.

Warwick isn’t new to anthem collaborations. In fact, she was part of the large group of musical artists who came together back in 1985 to jointly record the song, “We Are the World,” as a response to the famine in Ethiopia.

"I was part of the supergroup that united for USA For Africa in 1985 with a Michael Jackson/Lionel Richie-penned song produced by Quincy Jones... aimed at raising awareness for famine relief in Ethiopia," Warwick said.

The project, inspired by its predecessor, a 1984 British and Irish charity single, “Do They Know It’s Christmas,” also included Stevie Wonder, Bruce Springsteen, Cyndi Lauper, and Bob Dylan, among others.

Al Jarreau, Lionel Richie, Kenny Rogers, Cindy Lauper, Bruce Springsteen, James Ingram, Bob Dylan, Dionne Warwick, and Ray Charles, among others, singing "We Are the World" on January 28, 1985 | Source: Getty Images

In a 2024 Netflix documentary about the making of the song, it was revealed that Harry Belafonte, following the success of “Do They Know It’s Christmas,” pushed for a similar project that would feature Black American artists, which resulted in the casting and writing of the 1985 song.

Another anthem in 1986 saw Warwick joining forces with her friends, Elton John, Gladys Knight, and Stevie Wonder for the Grammy-winning song, “That’s What Friends Are For,” the proceeds of which still benefit the American Foundation for AIDS Research (amfAR) to this day.

Stevie Wonder, Gladys Knight, Elton John and Dionne Warwick perform "That's What Friends Are For" at the amfAR New York Gala on February 9, 2011 in New York City | Source: Getty Images

"One Heart Can Change the World" is the third single from Warwick's upcoming album, “DWuets,” a project she created with songwriter Diane Warren, and produced by her son, Damon Elliott.

The album, set to be Warwick’s final, also features singles with Cynthia Erivo and John Legend. (Billboard)