Chaz Salvatore Bono is an American writer, musician and actor. His parents are entertainers Sonny Bono and Cher, and he became widely known in appearances as a child on their television show, The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour.
Mary Jane Blige is an American singer-songwriter, actress, and philanthropist. Her career began in 1991 when she was signed to Uptown Records. She went on to release 13 studio albums, eight of which have achieved multi-platinum worldwide sales. Blige has sold 50 million albums in the United States and 80 million records worldwide. Blige has won nine Grammy Awards, four American Music Awards, twelve Billboard Music Awards and has also received three Golden Globe Award nominations, including one for her supporting role in the film Mudbound (2017) and another for its original song "Mighty River". Furthermore, she also received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress and Best Original Song, becoming the first person nominated for acting and songwriting in the same year.
David Walter Foster OC OBC is a Canadian musician, composer, arranger, record producer, and music executive. Foster has won 16 Grammy Awards from 47 nominations. He was the chairman of Verve Records from 2012 to 2016.
William James Adams Jr., better known by his stage name will.i.am, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, entrepreneur, television personality and actor. He is the founding and lead member of the musical group Black Eyed Peas.
"One" is a song by Irish rock band U2. It is the third track from their 1991 album Achtung Baby, and it was released as the record's third single in February 1992. During the album's recording sessions at Hansa Studios in Berlin, conflict arose between the band members over the direction of U2's sound and the quality of their material. Tensions almost prompted the band to break up until they achieved a breakthrough with the improvisation of "One"; the song was written after the band members were inspired by a chord progression that guitarist the Edge was playing in the studio. The lyrics, written by lead singer Bono, were inspired by the band members' fractured relationships and the German reunification. Although the lyrics ostensibly describe "disunity", they have been interpreted in other ways.
"City of Blinding Lights" is a song by Irish rock band U2. It is the fifth track on their eleventh studio album, How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb (2004), and was released as the album's fourth single on 6 June 2005. It was produced by Flood, with additional production by Chris Thomas and Jacknife Lee. The song reached number one in Spain, and peaked in the top ten in Canada, Ireland, the United Kingdom, and several other countries. The music video was shot at the General Motors Place in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
Jake Zyrus is a Filipino singer and television personality.
"It's a New Day" is a song produced and organised by rapper and producer will.i.am. It was released as promotional single on November 7, 2008 from political compilation album Change Is Now: Renewing America's Promise,. Will performed the song for the first time on The Oprah Winfrey Show. The song was written as a tribute to President Barack Obama's victory. It was used in an episode of the second season of Gossip Girl. A parody of the song was featured on the Boondocks episode "It's a Black President, Huey Freeman." It was titled "Dick Riding Obama", and featured will.i.am, rapper Thugnificent, Gangstalicious and a George Clooney lookalike debating whether Obama's victory was really a success. A scene from the episode was released on YouTube before the episode aired as a form of viral marketing.
Oprah Winfrey's endorsement of Barack Obama was one of the most widely covered and studied developments of the 2008 presidential campaign, as she has been described as the most influential woman in the world. Winfrey first endorsed Obama in September 2006 before he had even declared himself a candidate. In May 2007 Winfrey made her official endorsement of candidate Obama, and in December 2007, she made her first campaign appearances for him. Two economists estimate that Winfrey's endorsement was worth over a million votes in the Democratic primary race and that without it, Obama would have received fewer votes. Then-Governor of Illinois Rod Blagojevich claimed that the endorsement was so significant in electing Obama president that he considered offering Obama's former seat in the Senate to Winfrey.
Oprah Gail Winfrey is an American talk show host, television producer, actress, author, and philanthropist. She is best known for her talk show, The Oprah Winfrey Show, broadcast from Chicago, which was the highest-rated television program of its kind in history and ran in national syndication for 25 years from 1986 to 2011. Dubbed the "Queen of All Media", she was the richest African American of the 20th century and North America's first black multi-billionaire, and she has been ranked the greatest black philanthropist in American history. By 2007, she was sometimes ranked as the most influential woman in the world.
The first inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44th president of the United States took place on Tuesday, January 20, 2009, at the West Front of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. The 56th inauguration, which set a record attendance for any event held in the city, marked the commencement of the first term of Barack Obama as president and Joe Biden as vice president. Based on combined attendance numbers, television viewership, and Internet traffic, it was one of the most-observed events ever by the global audience.
We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial was a public celebration of the then forthcoming inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States at the Lincoln Memorial and the National Mall in Washington, D.C., on January 18, 2009. By some estimates the attendance was over 400,000. The event was musically directed by Rob Mathes of the Kennedy Center Honors. A backing band used by many of the artists was in the orchestra pit, and featured veteran session drummer Kenny Aronoff.
One million invitations to Barack Obama's inauguration were sent out in the first week of January 2009. Printed between December 11, 2008, and January 2, 2009, the invitations invited people to celebrate Barack Obama's inauguration as the forty-fourth President of the United States. The invitations have kept the same basic design of a gold seal and black script since the 1949 inauguration of Harry S. Truman, but this invitation was produced in a green manner, using recycled paper, by companies certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC).
Change is Now: Renewing America's Promise is a compilation album released on April 28, 2009 through Hidden Beach Recordings in conjunction with the Presidential Inaugural Committee. The album includes previously released tracks from Wilco, Stevie Wonder, Death Cab for Cutie, and Common. An accompanying DVD features eight speeches by Barack Obama, starting with the campaign announcement in Springfield, Illinois and ending with the election night victory speech in Chicago. The album sold retail online and at inaugural events in Washington.
"Note to God" is a song written by Diane Warren and first recorded by American R&B singer JoJo in 2006 for her album The High Road. "Note to God" is partly an emotional prayer. The lyrics are composed of things that would be written in a letter to God.
Stronger with Each Tear is the ninth studio album from American R&B and soul singer Mary J. Blige. The album was released in the US on December 21, 2009, under Blige's own imprint, Matriarch Records.
"American Prayer" is a 2002 song co-written by Bono of U2, Dave Stewart of the Eurythmics, and Pharrell Williams.
Kyle Townsend is an American record producer, musician, and composer. He has produced songs for such acclaimed recording artists as 5-time GRAMMY Award winner Celine Dion, 10-time Academy Award-nominated songwriter Diane Warren, as well as Mary J Blige, Lady Gaga, Jessie J, and Academy Award winner Jennifer Hudson and former President and First Lady Barack Obama and Michelle Obama. His work has earned 2 Academy Award nominations, and 3 Grammy Award Nominations.
Cassidy Durango Milton Willy Podell, known as DJ Cassidy, is an American DJ, record producer and MC.
More Myself: A Journey is a book by American recording artist Alicia Keys, written with the assistance of writer Michelle Burford. The book is the first release on Oprah Winfrey's imprint An Oprah Book. The book appeared at number three on The New York Times Best Seller list for Hardcover Nonfiction and at number four for Combined Print & E-Book Nonfiction. It also appeared at number seven on Publishers Weekly's list of the best selling Hardcover Frontlist Nonfiction books.
