Michelle Obama has stepped into the limelight herself for once to release a single in aid of charity, enlisting the assistance of noted musicians such as Kelly Clarkson and Kelly Rowland to add their sparkle to her ambitious project. Missy Elliott also features among many others on the track entitled “This is for My Girls”.
No ambitions for presidency herself
America’s First Lady is a devoted backer of her husband Barack’s efforts whilst in the White House, yet the 52-year-old lawyer and writer clearly also has ambitions of her own. However, she made it categorically clear at the recent South by Southwest Music Festival that she has no intention of following her husband’s political career in the future and mimicking Hilary Clinton’s current campaign for presidency.
One of her main reasons seems to be the welfare of her teenage daughters, Sasha and Malia who will have already endured eight years of high profile attention as a result of their father’s high profile position.
Promoting education campaign
The festival also afforded Obama an opportunity to speak earnestly about girls’ education and empowerment alongside Grammy winners Queen Latifah and Elliott, a topic close to her heart as a mother herself. She has been actively promoting her 'Let Girls Learn' initiative, a campaign seeking to prompt the leaders of the world to improve education opportunities for the estimated 62 million girls worldwide who do not currently attend school. But it wasn’t all rhetoric at the festival as Obama found the time to break into an impromptu chorus of the Boyz II Men hit “It's So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday” at the end of the discussion.
Her involvement on the charity track ably demonstrates an avowed intention to utilise her position of strength to boost a worthy cause. Drawing on the noted writing talents of Diane Warren, she hopes to raise precious funds for her initiative, besides raising awareness and encouraging change for the better in the future.
Noted songwriter
Warren has a proven pedigree with tracks such as “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing” – Aerosmith’s unforgettable power ballad from the blockbuster film “Armageddon” - and Toni Braxton’s smash hit “Un-Break My Heart” among her credits.
Her CV reads like a who’s who of popular music, having worked with Whitney Houston, Christina Aguilera and Cher during her writing career.
Sadly, for those hoping to hear more of Obama’s singing talents on the charity single they will be left disappointed, as she does not feature on the track herself.
