Jackson and other artists recorded the new version of the song shortly afterward; the other artists included Mariah Carey, Reba McEntire, Anastacia, Nick Carter, 3LW, Beyoncé, NSYNC, Celine Dion, Boyz II Men members Shawn Stockman & Michael McCary, Brian McKnight, Luther Vandross, and Usher.

Schaffel brought three-time Grammy winner K. C. Porter on to the project to give the Spanish version a different sound from the English recording.

"What More Can I Give" was scheduled for release as a charity single in the hope that $50 million would be raised between downloads, sponsors, and donations to aid the survivors and the families of victims of the September 11 terrorist attacks.

Jackson had the song taken down on November 17, on the eve of the raid on his Neverland Valley Ranch property by Santa Barbara Sheriffs.

Schaffel enlisted friend and famed Brazilian artist Romero Britto to design, create, and paint an artwork to be used as the cover for the single.

Jackson was inspired to finish "Heal L.A." after a meeting with anti-apartheid activist and President of South Africa Nelson Mandela in 1999.

With the first version of the song completed, Jackson intended to premiere it at his MJ & Friends concerts, staged in Munich, Germany and the South Korean capital Seoul in June 1999.

[3] "What More Can I Give" was also intended to be released as a charity single to aid the Kosovar refugees who had been forced out of their home during the Kosovo War (1998–1999).

The pop singer stated that television footage of the war upset him and that he wanted to go to Yugoslavia to hug every one of the suffering children.

The concerts featured performances by artists such as Usher, Whitney Houston, Mýa, Liza Minnelli, James Ingram, Gloria Estefan and Marc Anthony.

[8] Hours following the second concert, the attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City, the Pentagon outside of Washington, D.C., and a crash near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, resulted in the loss of 2,993 lives.

Producer and songwriter K. C. Porter had directly translated the title of "What More Can I Give" initially, but it was changed after Jackson expressed that he felt it was too clumsy.

Held at the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium in Washington, D.C., on October 21, 2001, the eight-hour concert featured numerous artists performing to a sell-out audience of 54,000 people.

Jackson performed his song "Man in the Mirror", before he and other singers such as Rod Stewart, Al Green, James Brown, Sean Combs and Pink closed the show with "What More Can I Give".

[16] Joe D'Angelo of MTV later stated that the entire performance was held together by Jackson and Billy Gilman, who he claimed were the only two who looked like they knew the lyrics to the song.

WKTU-FM received numerous telephone calls and emails from listeners following their unauthorized playing of the song, thanking the station and asking where they could buy a copy of "What More Can I Give".