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Former President of the United States, Barack Obama, watches on during the game between the North Carolina Tar Heels and Duke Blue Devils at Cameron Indoor Stadium on February 20, 2019 in Durham, North Carolina. Photo: Streeter Lecka/Getty Images
Former President of the United States, Barack Obama, watches on during the game between the North Carolina Tar Heels and Duke Blue Devils at Cameron Indoor Stadium on February 20, 2019 in Durham, North Carolina. Photo: Streeter Lecka/Getty Images

Barack Obama’s Summer Playlist features noted Brazilian musicians Elis Regina and António Carlos Jobim, among other Latinx artists

Former U.S. President Barack Obama has continued his tradition of sharing music with an annual playlist. This year’s track list includes some artists from the…

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Barack Obama, the 44th president of the United States, has unveiled another of his yearly Summer playlists for 2021.

Included on the playlist — which the former president uses annually to share his favorite music with fellow listeners — are four songs featuring Latinx artists, ranging from modern international hitmakers to some classic singers of yesteryear.

The 2021 summer playlist included songs by the Latinx artists Rochy RD, Sabrina Claudio, Bruno Mars (as Silk Sonic), and lastly, the acclaimed Brazillian duo Elis Regina and António Carlos Jobim.

The Dominican singer Rochy RD’s 2020 remix of ‘Ella No Es Tuya’ — featuring contributions from artists Myke Towers, and Nicki Nicole — made its way onto the playlist. 

The remix from Rochy RD is an expansion of one of his own songs. Backed by collaborators Towers and Nicole, the remix elevates the original single to a hip-hop team-up. 

The 2017 song ‘Frozen’ from Cuban and Puerto Rican R&B artist Sabrina Claudio is also included on the playlist. ‘Frozen’ is a somber ballad that details a romance with time-distorting imagery.

The soul and R&B collaboration between Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak, ‘Leave the Door Open,’ also found itself jamming on the playlist. This tune was released in March 2021, and serves as the lead single for Silk Sonic’s upcoming debut studio album, An Evening with Silk Sonic.

Silk Sonic is a new supergroup duo consisting of Mars and .Paak. 

One of many tracks from the 1970s to appear on Obama’s playlist is ‘Águas de Março’ from the late Brazilian music legends, Elis Regina and António Carlos “Tom” Jobim. 

‘Águas de Março’ was first released in 1972 by Jobim alone. The version seen on Obama’s playlist was not released domestically until 1989.

In 1974, the album Elis and Tom from Regina and Jobim was released. The version of ‘Águas de Março’ seen on the playlist, with Elis’ contribution, was first featured on Elis and Tom.

The album was recorded in Los Angeles during the 1970s, and was conceptualized thanks to a personal wish from Regina to record some of Jobim’s songs alongside the musician himself.

Since Regina had been celebrating 10 years at her record label, Phillips Records, she was asked by André Midani — the then-director of Phillips — if she would like anything to celebrate her anniversary and her success. Her wish was to record an album of songs with Jobim. 

In 2016, ‘Águas de Março’ was voted the second-best Brazilian song of all time by Rolling Stone’s Brazilian counterpart. 

‘Águas de Março’ is a bossa nova tune with an inviting piano and loving vocals. Regina and Jobim duet on the track, sharing the lyrics of the Jobim original. 

Listening to this Brazilain classic can successfully put a smile on any listener’s face.

Obama hopes the playlist will help listeners celebrate the Summer. The former president described his playlist via Twitter as a “mix of old and new, household names and emerging artists, and a whole lot in between.” 

Obama began this annual tradition in 2015 when the White House joined music-streaming platform Spotify, releasing the president’s first Summertime playlist soon after.

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