Hillary Clinton asks YouTube users to pick campaign song

Last Updated: Saturday, May 26, 2007 | 1:27 PM ET

CBC Arts

An online appeal by U.S. presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton for help in picking her campaign theme song is piquing the interest of thousands on YouTube.

Earlier this month, the wife of former U.S. president Bill Clinton launched a campaign calling on patrons of the popular — and predominantly youth-oriented — video-sharing website to help her choose a tune.

This week, Clinton's team unveiled a list of 10 musical finalists, with prominent Canadian singers Céline Dion and Shania Twain making the cut.

The first five finalists were whittled down by online votes from a list thought up by Clinton's team, while an additional five were suggested by the public.

The songs are:

• Suddenly I See, KT Tunstall.
• Rock This Country, Shania Twain.
• Beautiful Day, U2.
• Get Ready, The Temptations.
• I'm a Believer, Smash Mouth.
• Are You Gonna Go My Way, Lenny Kravitz.
• Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now, McFadden & Whitehead.
• Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic, the Police.
• You and I, Céline Dion.
• The Best, Tina Turner.
  

In a mock-serious tone, Clinton demonstrates a self-deprecating sense of humour in both YouTube videos she has recorded so far. In the first video, she mocks her own poor singing ability and, at first, promises not to sing the winning tune in public, before finally saying exuberantly, "unless I win!"

In the second video, Clinton pokes fun at some of the public's suggested tunes, and shows a selection of clips from individuals criticizing the contest.

Though the online contest is a clear appeal to younger U.S. voters, Clinton — who has been criticized as being stiff and not as charismatic as her husband — seems to have garnered an enthusiastic response from many YouTube users, with many comments praising her sense of humour in the campaign.

According to YouTube's view counter, the first video has been seen more than 500,000 times and the second video more than 88,000 times.

Several U.S. presidential candidates, including Clinton and Democratic rival Barack Obama, have posted speeches on YouTube, also the site of a controversial video ad portraying Clinton as Big Brother from George Orwell's 1984.