With an eye for starting solo projects beyond her White House tenure (remember this?), First Lady Michelle Obama has enlisted some prodigious talent for This is for My Girls, a charity anthem that aims to promote the Obama Administration’s Let Girls Learn Initiative and #62MillionGirls campaign, according to Billboard. Both initiatives aim to provide young women the opportunity of an education across the globe.
The song, which arrives a day before her keynote address at Austin’s SXSW 2016 festival, was penned by Diane Warren. It features Missy Elliott, Zendaya, Kelly Rowland, Chloe and Halle, Lea Michele, Janelle Monáe and Kelly Clarkson among others, which is almost on par with Sending Our Love Down the Well’s all star line up.
It’s one of the stronger entries into the charity song canon (how is that even a thing?). It bubbles along with a suitably empowering energy and some catchy funk inspired beats and hooks. The chorus sounds an auto-tune tweak away from Beyonce‘s Run the World and unfortunately there’s no FLOTUS rap anywhere on the track, which is an opportunity missed.
so happy to be ft. on this song w all these beautiful women for @FLOTUS #62MillionGirls #LetGirlsLearn pic.twitter.com/v1U8sicjEx
— chloe x halle (@chloeandhalle) March 15, 2016
'This Is for My Girls' ft Zendaya drops today on iTunes in support of Let Girls Learn & the #62MillionGirls campaign pic.twitter.com/rulH9LiY87
— Zendaya Media (@ZendayaMedia) March 15, 2016
A live stream of Michelle Obama’s keynote speech and panel discussion with Missy Elliott, Diane Warren, Sophia Bush and moderated by Queen Latifah can be found here.
Have a listen to the audio rip here.