It seems former President Barack Obama is listening to some great music this summer — which comes as no surprise. He released his highly anticipated annual Summer Playlist over the past weekend, which included sounds from some Latinx talent across various genres.
“With so many folks getting together with family and friends, there’s a lot to celebrate this summer,” Obama wrote. “I put together a playlist of some of the songs I’ve been listening to lately — it’s a mix of old and new, household names and emerging artists, and a whole lot in between.”
Included on Obama’s playlist are Latinx musicians: Bruno Mars for his song “Leave the Door Open” with Anderson Paak and Silk Sonic; Rochy RD, Myke Towers, and Niki Nicole for their remix of “Ella No Es Tuya;” Sabrina Claudio for her song “Frozen;” and Elis Regina and António Carlos Jobim for their song “Águas de Março.”
Mars’ R&B and soul song “Leave the Door Open” was released in March 2021 as the lead single on Silk Sonic’s debut studio album An Evening with Silk Sonic. In April, it hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Dominican artist Rochy RD, Puerto Rican arist Myke Towers, and Argentine singer Niki Nicole’s Latin pop song “Ella No Es Tuya” was released in July 2020. The music video currently has more than 145 million views on YouTube.
Claudio’s song “Frozen” is from her 2017 album About Time. The R&B singer and songwriter is half Cuban and half Puerto Rican.
Late Brazilian musicians Elis Regina and António Carlos Jobim also made Obama’s cut for their song “Águas de Março,” which was released in 1972. In 2016, it was voted the second-best Brazilian song of all time in the Brazilian edition of Rolling Stone.