The president's biggest fan is back!
Just in time for Barack Obama's big acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention, the woman behind 2008's viral hit "Obama Girl" is back with a new video, "Still Got a Crush on Obama."
Except, this time around, the song is performed by Leah Kauffman, the actual brains and pipes behind the 2008 hit.
Kauffman replaces model Amber Lee Ettinger, who lip-synched through the original tongue-in-cheek performance. After her brush with Internet celebrity, Ettinger became disillusioned with the president, going on Fox's Sean Hannity to complain about not getting a call from the White House.
A publicist told Politico that “Amber, who is now pursuing acting, isn’t involved at all," in the current project. "This is something Leah (the original singer/songwriter) has wanted to do completely on her own. She and Amber have remained on good terms.”
Outfitted in a tank top with the slogan "Listen to Obama," Kauffman reprises many of the details that made the original version such a hit, including catchy lyrics that alternate between the suggestive (“I’ll give you service in secret") and the political ("let's show him that we Obamacare"). The clip also features sparklers, a group dance routine and plenty of star-spangled gyration in front of, around, and adjacent to images of POTUS.
However, Kauffman is careful to stress that the video, while funny, is meant to be sincere.
"This song comes from a place of sincerity,” Kauffman explains in a separate video. “Obama’s created a lot of great changes over the last four years, and I hope he has the chance to influence the next four.”
When "Obama Girl" debuted during the 2008 election cycle, the YouTube clip racked up an astonishing 25 million views. Despite a less-than-enthusiastic response from the prospective Commander-in-Chief, the video was listed as one of Newsweek magazine's top 10 memes of the decade.
The phenomenon naturally also inspired a host of spin-offs, including a June parody, "Obama Boy," that celebrated the President's statement in support of gay marriage.