"Yes We Can" is a song produced by

The Black Eyed Peas Black Eyed Peas (also known as The Black Eyed Peas) is an American musical group consisting of rappers will.i.am, apl.de.ap, Taboo. The group's line-up during the height of their popularity in the 2000s featured Fergie, who replaced Kim Hi ...

frontman

will.i.am William James Adams Jr. (born March 15, 1975), known professionally as will.i.am (pronounced "Will-I-am"), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter and record producer. He is the founding and lead member of the musical group Black Eyed Peas. ...

, released as promotional single on February 2, 2008.

Production

Although the lyrics are entirely quotations from Obama's concession speech in the

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec to the nor ...

presidential primary, the Obama campaign had no involvement in its production. The speech was written by then-Obama speechwriter Jon Favreau. The viral

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device ...

, shot in a sparse black-and-white, features Obama's image in collage fashion; the performers, among them celebrities including musicians, singers and actors, echo his words in a hip-hop,

call-and-response Call and response is a form of interaction between a speaker and an audience in which the speaker's statements ("calls") are punctuated by responses from the listeners. This form is also used in music, where it falls under the general category of ...

manner as his voice plays in the background. The song was produced by will.i.am, mixed by Dylan "3-D" Dresdow, and the music video was directed by

Jesse Dylan Jesse Byron Dylan (born January 6, 1966) is an American film director and production executive. He is the founder of the media production company Wondros and Lybba, a non-profit organization. He is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relati ...

, the son of singer

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

.ABC News (2008)
New Celeb-Filled Music Video for Obama
Retrieved February 3, 2008.

Release

Since the original posting on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

, the video has been re-posted a number of times by other users and as of February 23, 2008, the video had been watched a combined total of more than 22 million times among all of the postings. It had also been viewed more than 4 million times on Dipdive, for a combined web total of more than 26 million viewings. By July 22, 2008, the video had been watched over 21 million times on YouTube and other sites. The video also won will.i.am a

Webby Award The Webby Awards are awards for excellence on the Internet presented annually by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, a judging body composed of over two thousand industry experts and technology innovators. Categories includ ...

for "Artist of the Year". It was criticized, however, by conservative commentators for being over-the-top and worshipful.

John Legend John Roger Stephens (born December 28, 1978), known professionally as John Legend, is an American singer, songwriter, pianist, and record producer. He began his musical career by working behind the scenes, playing piano on Lauryn Hill's " Eve ...

and will.i.am performed the song on the final day of the

2008 Democratic National Convention The 2008 Democratic National Convention was a quadrennial presidential nominating convention of the Democratic Party where it adopted its national platform and officially nominated its candidates for president and vice president. The convent ...

INVESCO Field Empower Field at Mile High (previously known as Broncos Stadium at Mile High, Invesco Field at Mile High and Sports Authority Field at Mile High, and commonly known as Mile High, New Mile High or Mile High Stadium) is an American football stadium ...

Denver, Colorado Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

Music video

The music video was released on Dipdive.com and also on

.com under the username 'WeCan08'. It was honored with the first-ever Emmy Award for Best New Approaches in Daytime Entertainment. The video is a collage-style

inspired by

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...

's popularization of the slogan "Yes we can.", which became a secondary slogan for his campaign. During the 2008 US presidential campaign following the

Democratic Primary This is a list of Democratic Party presidential primaries. 1912 This was the first time that candidates were chosen through primaries. New Jersey Governor Woodrow Wilson ran to become the nominee, and faced the opposition of Speaker of the Uni ...

, then- Senator

, used the similar

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

translation of the slogan of

United Farm Workers The United Farm Workers of America, or more commonly just United Farm Workers (UFW), is a labor union for farmworkers in the United States. It originated from the merger of two workers' rights organizations, the Agricultural Workers Organizing ...

(UFW) – " Sí, se puede" (

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

for "Yes, you can" or "Yes, it can be done") in his speech. The slogan dates back to 1972 when Cesar Chavez and the UFW's co-founder,

Dolores Huerta Dolores Clara Fernández Huerta (born April 10, 1930) is an American labor leader and civil rights activist who, with Cesar Chavez, is a co-founder of the National Farmworkers Association, which later merged with the Agricultural Workers Organiz ...

, came up with the slogan during Chavez's 24-day fast in

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1,608,139 residents as of 2020. It is the fifth-most populous city in the United States, and the on ...

. The music video premiered on television on

ABC News Now ABC News Live (a.k.a. ABCNL) is an American streaming video news channel for breaking news, live events, newscasts, and longer-form reports and documentaries operated by ABC News since 2018. The channel is available through various streaming de ...

's ''What's the Buzz'' entertainment program on February 1, 2008. On February 2, 2008, it was featured on the Obama campaign's community blog, and later promoted as a viral video by the campaign on its website. The clip was played prior to a February 12, 2008, campaign rally of nearly 20,000 at the

Kohl Center The Kohl Center is an arena and athletic center at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, United States. The building, which opened in 1998, is the home of the university's men's basketball and ice hockey teams, and the women's basketball team. ...

on the campus of the

University of Wisconsin–Madison A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United Stat ...

. The video was edited by Terence "Biff" Butler of Rock Paper Scissors, and executive producers included will.i.am, Mike Jurkovac, Fred Goldring, Jesse Dylan, Priscilla Cohen and Sheri Howell and Lilo. Associate producers included Sean Larkin, Sarah Pantera, Carol Cohen, Steve Koskie, Wendi Morris, and Scott Spanjich. The following celebrities were featured in the video: *

Scarlett Johansson Scarlett Ingrid Johansson (; born November 22, 1984) is an American actress. The world's highest-paid actress in 2018 and 2019, she has featured multiple times on the ''Forbes'' Celebrity 100 list. ''Time'' magazine named her one of the 100 ...

- 0:05 *

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Kareem (alternatively spelled Karim or Kerim) ( ar, کریم) is a common given name and surname of Arabic origin that means "generous", "noble", "honorable". It is also one of the Names of God in Islam in the Quran. Given name Karim * Karim A ...

- 0:21 * Common - 0:23 *

- 0:32 *

Bryan Greenberg Bryan Greenberg (born May 24, 1978) is an American actor and singer, known for his starring role as Ben Epstein in the HBO original series ''How to Make It in America'' as well as a recurring role as Jake Jagielski in the WB series '' One Tree ...

(guitar) - 0:37 * Kate Walsh - 0:44 *

Tatyana Ali Tatyana Marisol Ali is an American actress and singer best known for her role as Ashley Banks on the NBC sitcom ''The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air'' from 1990 to 1996. She starred as Tyana Jones on the TV One original series ''Love That Girl!'', an ...

- 0:44 *

Harold Perrineau Jr. Harold Perrineau (born August 7, 1963) is an American actor best known for his roles as Michael Dawson in the ABC television series '' Lost'' (2004–2010), Augustus Hill in the HBO television series '' Oz'' (1997–2003), Sheriff Boyd Steve ...

- 0:49 *

Aisha Tyler Aisha Nilaja Tyler (born September 18, 1970) is an American actress, comedian, director, and talk show host. She is known for playing Andrea Marino in the first season of ''Ghost Whisperer'', Dr. Tara Lewis in ''Criminal Minds'', Mother Nature ...

- 1:01 *

Samuel Page Samuel Page (born Samuel L. Elliott; November 5, 1976) is an American actor. He has appeared on popular television shows, such as ''All My Children'', ''Mad Men'', ''Desperate Housewives'', ''House of Cards'', '' Switched at Birth'', ''Scandal, ...

- 1:03 *

Enrique Murciano Enrique Ricardo Murciano (born July 9, 1973) is an American actor. He is known for his role as FBI agent Danny Taylor in the CBS mystery drama series ''Without a Trace'' from 2002 to 2009. Early life and education Born and raised in Miami, Fl ...

- 1:07 "Sí, podemos" - 1:17 *Maya Rubin - 1:08 "כֵּן אָנוּ יְכוֹלִים (Ken Anu Yekholim)" (

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

) *

Esthero Esthero ( ; born Jenny-Bea Englishman on December 23, 1978 in Stratford, Ontario) is a Canadian singer-songwriter who lives in Los Angeles, California. The name ''Esthero'' refers both to the singer and formerly to the two-person team of hersel ...

- 1:10 *

Eric Balfour Eric Salter Balfour (born April 24, 1977) is an American actor and singer. He is the lead singer of Born as Ghosts, formerly known as Fredalba. He made his film debut in the drama ''Shattered Image'' (1998), followed by roles in ''What Women Want' ...

- 1:23 *

Nicole Scherzinger Nicole Scherzinger (; born Nicole Prascovia Elikolani Valiente, June 29, 1978) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, actress, and television personality. She is best known as the lead singer of the Pussycat Dolls, one of the best-selling g ...

- 1:30 *

Taryn Manning Taryn Manning is an American actress and singer. She is best known for portraying Tiffany "Pennsatucky" Doggett in the Netflix original series '' Orange Is the New Black'' (2013–2019), Cherry in ''Sons of Anarchy'' (2008–2010), Nola in ''Hu ...

- 1:40 *

Amber Valletta Amber Evangeline Valletta (born February 9, 1974) is an American model and actress. She began her career as a fashion model, landing her first of sixteen American ''Vogue'' covers at the age of eighteen. During the 1990s, Valletta reached the st ...

- 1:52 * Auden McCaw (in Valetta's arms) - 1:52 *

Kelly Hu Kelly Ann Hu (born February 13, 1968 ) is an American actress, voice artist, former fashion model and beauty queen who was Miss Teen USA 1985 and Miss Hawaii USA 1993. Hu starred as Dr. Rae Chang on the American television soap opera '' Sunset ...

- 1:52 *

Adam Rodríguez Adam Michael Rodriguez (born April 2, 1975)"Adam Rodriguez" (2006). ''Contemporary Theatre, Film and Television''. Vol. 71. Detroit: Gale. Accessed via ''Biography in Context'' database, August 7, 2016. is an American actor, screenwriter and ...

- 1:56 "

Sí se puede "Sí, se puede" (Spanish for "Yes, it is possible" or, roughly, "Yes, we can"; ) is the motto of the United Farm Workers of America, and has since been taken up by other activist groups. In 1972, during César Chávez's 25-day fast in Phoenix, ...

" *

Eric Christian Olsen Eric Christian Olsen (born May 31, 1977), is an American actor. He is known for his portrayals of Investigator Marty Deeks on the CBS television series '' NCIS: Los Angeles'', and of Austin in the film ''Not Another Teen Movie''. Early life O ...

- 2:02 *

Sarah Wright Sarah Fay Wright Olsen (born September 28, 1983) is an American actress. She played Millicent Gergich in a recurring role on ''Parks and Recreation''. Career Wright began her acting career at an early age. When she was 14 years old she became ...

- 2:02 *

Shoshannah Stern Shoshannah Stern (born July 3, 1980) is an American actress and writer. Life and career She was born in Walnut Creek, California, into an observant Jewish and fourth-generation Deaf family, the daughter of Ron Stern and Hedy Marilyn Stern (née U ...

( American Sign Language) - 2:05 *

Ed Kowalczyk Edward Joel Kowalczyk (; born July 16, 1971)"Edward Kowalczyk IMDb entry"
''

(guitar) - 2:19 *

Fonzworth Bentley Derek Watkins (born February 13, 1974), known professionally as Fonzworth Bentley, is an American rapper, actor, television presenter, and author. He is perhaps best known for being Sean Combs' former personal valet and assistant, as first see ...

(violin) - 2:38 *

Amaury Nolasco Amaury Nolasco Garrido (born December 24, 1970) is a Puerto Rican actor and producer, best known for the role of Fernando Sucre on the Fox television series ''Prison Break'', and for his role in ''Transformers''. Early life Nolasco was born ...

- 3:24 * Hill Harper - 3:27 *

Nick Cannon Nicholas Scott Cannon (born October 8, 1980) is an American television host, actor, rapper, and comedian. In television, Cannon began as a teenager on ''All That'' before going on to host '' The Nick Cannon Show'', ''Wild 'n Out'', ''America's ...

- 3:36 *Trott Felipe - 3:38 * Herbie Hancock (piano) - 3:41 *

Johnathon Schaech Johnathon Schaech ( ; born September 10, 1969) is an American actor and screenwriter. He has been working as an actor since the early '90s. Early life Johnathon Schaech was born in Edgewood, Maryland, in 1969 to Joe, a Baltimore City law enf ...

- 3:45 * Austin Nichols - 3:50 *

Tracee Ellis Ross Tracee Joy Silberstein (born October 29, 1972), known professionally as Tracee Ellis Ross, is an American actress. She is known for her lead roles in the television series '' Girlfriends'' (2000–2008) and '' Black-ish'' (2014–2022). She is ...

- 4:00 *Fred Goldring (guitar) - 4:03

Parodies

The song inspired the spoof songs "john.he.is" and "No You Can't" satirizing the Republican candidate John McCain. Another parody, created by ''

Attack of the Show! ''Attack of the Show!'' (''AOTS'') is an American live television program and that aired on G4. AOTS features segments on pop culture, video games, and movies. After an initial run from 2005 to 2013 (which originally aired from 2005 until 2013 ...

'', replaces Obama with the

G.I. Joe ''G.I. Joe'' is an American media franchise and a line of action figures owned and produced by the toy company Hasbro. The initial product offering represented four of the branches of the U.S. armed forces with the Action Soldier ( U.S. Army), Ac ...

villain

Cobra Commander Cobra Commander is a fictional character and the main antagonist of the '' G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero'' franchise. He is the supreme leader of the terrorist organization Cobra and the archenemy of the G.I. Joe Team. He was portrayed by Joseph ...

. It inspired yet another parody on "

Best Week Ever ''Best Week Ever'' is an American comedy series created and executive produced by Fred Graver. The series originally aired from January 23, 2004, to June 12, 2009, on VH1.Harris, Scott"VH1 Cancels 'Best Week Ever'". ''Inside TV''. January 13, 2 ...

," which made fun of Lindsay Lohan for an online interview in which she both allegedly called the president "colored" and discussed her collection of leggings. ''

MADtv ''Mad TV'' (stylized as ''MADtv'') is an American sketch comedy television series originally inspired by ''Mad (magazine), Mad'' magazine. In its initial run, it aired on Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox from 1995 to 2009. After a one-off reuni ...

'' did a parody called "Yes I Can," about how North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Il (played by

Bobby Lee Robert Lee Jr. (born September 17, 1971) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and podcaster. From 2001 to 2009, Lee was a cast member on ''MADtv'', and he co-starred in the ABC single-camera sitcom series '' Splitting Up Together'' alongs ...

) has the power to eventually destroy the world. A parody of the song was made on the July 15, 2009 episode of '' The Chaser's War on Everything'', in which a song and video was created based on Australian Prime Minister,

Kevin Rudd Kevin Michael Rudd (born 21 September 1957) is an Australian former politician and diplomat who served as the 26th prime minister of Australia from 2007 to 2010 and again from June 2013 to September 2013, holding office as the leader of the ...

's speeches. It also featured celebrity appearances (from the likes of Shaun Micallef,

Lisa Wilkinson Lisa Wilkinson (born 19 December 1959) is an Australian television presenter and journalist. Wilkinson currently narrates ''Ambulance Australia'' and has previously co-hosted the Nine Network's breakfast television program, ''Today,'' with K ...

, Stuart MacGill, Tony Martin,

Hamish Blake Hamish Donald Blake (born 11 December 1981) is an Australian comedian, television and radio presenter, actor and author. Since 2003, he has worked with Andy Lee as part of the comedy duo Hamish and Andy. The pair have performed live and on te ...

and Andy Lee among others). Treventus.com uses the paraphrase "Yes We Scan".

References

External links