The First Lady took to Spotify to curate a playlist of her favorite female artists in honor of International Day of the Girl on Sunday, October 11. Michelle Obama included songs by Alicia Keys, Demi Lovato, TLC and Beyonce on a 20-song playlist tied to the movement spreading awareness of gender inequality across the world.
In the company of smash hits like Beyonce's "Run The World (Girls)" and Alicia Keys' "Girl on Fire" sat Demi Lovato's "Confident" as well as tracks by Mary J. Blige, Aretha Franklin and Billie Holiday, Entertainment Weekly notes. Michelle Obama continued to celebrate the female-empowering holiday by promoting her own endeavor, Let Girls Learn. The campaign focuses on the right to education for over 62 million girls internationally, while pushing American girls to achieve educational opportunities at home.
The First Lady's female initiative has been backed by a list of star-studded supporters including Queen Latifah, Smokey Robinson and Charlize Theron. According to NME, Obama took a trip to East London in June to visit the Mulberry School for Girls in Tower Hamlets, stressing to the students: "Don't just be book-smart, be smart about the world - know your community, know your politics."
"My iPod is so eclectic. It's everything from Elle Varner, which Malia turned me on to...so I got a few songs of her; Alicia Keyes," she said. "I just got done listening to 'Blackbird' by Paul McCartney, one of my favorites. My iPod is full of songs that I love. I rarely put albums on, but if I hear a song that really moves me I put it on there and play it again, and again, and again," FLOTUS told Ryan Seacrest in 2012 according to E! Online.
And thank you for empowering girls, @DDLovato! #62MillionGirls https://t.co/tyGI7jLHFK
— The First Lady (@FLOTUS) October 13, 2015
During Obama's presidency, the commander-in-chief has created bonds with many prominent figures in the music industry. He even gave advice to rapper Kanye West over the weekend during his speech at a San Francisco fundraising event. The "All Day" rapper revealed during his speech at the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards that he planned to run for president in 2020.
Like Michelle, Barack already took to Spotify over the summer to curate two Summer Vacation playlists which included The Rolling Stones, Mos Def and Bob Dylan.
