What do you do if a national magazine calls your city one of the top 10 dying cities?

If you are Flint and Detroit, ranked 9th and 7th, respectively, you do nothing after Newsweek magazine published its article back in January.

If you are Grand Rapids, Michigan, ranked 10th, you go on the offense and create a music video lipdub (5,000 people participated) to Don McLean’s “American Pie”, capturing the “passion and energy we all feel is growing exponentially” in our city, said Rob Bliss, the video’s producer. Bliss says McLean’s “American Pie,” a song about death, was in the end, triumphant and filled to the brim with life and hope.”

The video, complete with marching bands, parades, weddings and helicopter take offs, forced Newsweek to admit it was wrong for the “dying” label. Newsweek issued a formal apology to Grand Rapids saying, “First off, we LOVE your YouTube LipDub. We’re big fans, and are inspired by your love of the city you call home.”

The Grand Rapids LipDub, which has more than 3 million views and growing since it was posted May 26, got us wondering what would happen in Dearborn if such a designation was bestowed upon our city. Would there be the usual finger pointing as to whose fault it was for the label or would our citizens, elected officials and businesses rally to the cause? We’d like to think the latter.

If you haven’t already viewed it, the video is worth a watch and will make you smile. Lots of cooperation (not just financial) to make this video happen . . .  on so many different levels. Roger Ebert even called it the “the greatest music video ever made.”