Michelle Obama creates song to aid young women's education
Obama recently asked Kelly Clarkson, Missy Elliott, and Janelle Monae to work on the song, 'This Is For My Girls.' The track will help raise money for the 'Let Girls Learn' program.
First lady Michelle Obama speaks in the East Room of the White House in Washington in 2016.
Susan Walsh/AP
Michelle Obama’s husband isn’t the only one getting involved with music, with President Obama recently appearing as "Hamilton" creator Lin-Manuel Miranda rapped.
Obama recently ordered a song, “This Is For My Girls,” from songwriter Diane Warren, who has written the Oscar-nominated Lady Gaga song “Til It Happens To You” and the Celine Dion song “Because You Loved Me.”
“Girls,” which is now available for download, features turns by singers including Kelly Clarkson, Missy Elliott, Janelle Monae, Zendaya, and many more.
The proceeds from the song will help with the Peace Corps Let Girls Learn Fund. The Peace Corps Let Girls Learn Program was created in 2015 by the Peace Corps and Mrs. Obama and works to help young women seek secondary education.
In an interview with Billboard about the creation of “Girls,” Warren referenced a past song that was created to help a cause.
“It's kind of like 'We Are the World' meets 'Lady Marmalade' with these strong voices and strong women,” Warren said. “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.”
In addition to “We Are the World,” which was recorded in 1985 with artists including Bruce Springsteen, Huey Lewis, and Cyndi Lauper and raised funds for the organization USA for Africa to battle poverty, “Girls” also evokes the holiday-themed track “Do They Know it’s Christmas?”
“Christmas” was first recorded in 1984 to attempt to help with hunger in Ethiopia and included work by U2 singer Bono, Phil Collins, and Sting, among many others.
Both were successes financially, with “Christmas” raising £8 million the year it was recorded and USA for Africa, the organization that benefited from “World,” going on to raise more than $75 million.
Both “Christmas” and “World” would go on to be re-recorded.