The Obamas are known as one of the more musical presidential couples, from their passion for dance to their long-running performance series at the White House. Now First Lady Michelle Obama is dipping her toes in the creative side of music production.
FLOTUS made an appearance Wednesday at South By Southwest festival as one of the keynote speakers for SXSW Music. It's there, sitting beside hip-hop icon Missy Elliott, she released details about an original song she spearheaded called "This is For My Girls." The track enlists some the most badass females in pop music, including Elliott, D-FW darling Kelly Clarkson, Kelly Rowland of Destiny's Child, Zendaya, Janelle Monae, Jadagrace, Lea Michele and Chloe and Halle.
"This is For My Girls" is a product of FLOTUS' ongoing Let Girls Live initiative and #62MillionGirls campaign, which aim to support the more than 62 million girls worldwide who are not enrolled in school and help them achieve their academic dreams, according to the website.
"It's kind of like 'We Are the World' meets 'Lady Marmalade' with these strong voices and strong women," said Diane Warren, the song's award-winning writer, in an interview with Billboard.
"When was the last time you heard a song like this or a record that had this many amazing divas on it? I’m really proud," Warren said.
Warren, who was recently nominated for an Academy Award for Lady Gaga's "Til It Happens to You," said when compiling the all-star vocal cast, she and FLOTUS looked for empowered women like Clarkson, who "doesn't take shit from anyone, you know?" (Remember that time Clarkson called out producer Dr. Luke for being a terrible dude to work with? You go girl!)
#ThisIsForMyGirls Education is key to opening minds and doors to opportunities that are absolutely possible! https://t.co/JuPVmrKulJ
— Kelly Clarkson (@kellyclarkson) March 16, 2016
Proceeds from "This is For My Girls" sales on iTunes will be donated to the Peace Corps Let Girls Live Fund, which is why the song is exclusively for sale. Additionally, everyone involved has pledged to donate their royalties from the tune to the fund.
Anybody else have warm fuzzy feelings? Preview snippets of the track below before purchasing your copy on iTunes.
h/t Rolling Stone
