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Michelle Obama releases single ahead of SXSW keynote
By Andy Malt | Published on Thursday 17 March 2016
Michelle Obama appeared at South By Southwest yesterday to deliver the first keynote of this year’s SXSW Music conference. As previously reported, she used the event to promote her Let Girls Learn campaign, and she did this by launching a new single to raise funds and awareness.
The aim of the campaign is to reduce barriers for the 62 million girls around the world who currently do not access to formal education. Obama spoke about how being told “what I couldn’t do” in her youth spurred her to work harder and achieve more. However, she noted, many women and girls do not have that opportunity. “I’ve heard horrifying stories of young women who are pushed down because they’re trying to get an education”, she said.
The Queen Latifah-led discussion – at which Sophia Bush, Diane Warren and Missy Elliott also spoke – followed the premier of ‘This Is For My Girls’, a new Warren-penned single featuring vocals from Missy Elliott, Kelly Rowland, Janelle Monae, Kelly Clarkson, Zendaya, Jadagrace, Lea Michele, and Chloe & Halle.
“We haven’t had an anthem like this in a while”, Warren told Billboard. “I envisioned the record being with all these different women, never just one girl singing on it. With Kelly Rowland on it, it’s almost like an updated Destiny’s Child record. I think it can be a huge worldwide anthem. I hope it becomes that”.
Well, step one on that road would be making the track available outside the US. For now, Stateside music fans can buy the track on iTunes, and you can hear a clip of it here.
