"America's Song" is a patriotic song written by

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. ...

, David Foster and George Pajon, Jr. The song is performed by will.i.am, Seal,

Bono Paul David Hewson (born 10 May 1960), known by his stage name Bono (), is an Irish singer-songwriter, activist, and philanthropist. He is the lead vocalist and primary lyricist of the rock band U2. Born and raised in Dublin, he attended M ...

Mary J. Blige Mary Jane Blige ( ; born January 11, 1971) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Often referred to as the " Queen of Hip-Hop Soul" and " Queen of R&B", Blige has won nine Grammy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, four American Music Award ...

, and Faith Hill, with David Foster appearing on piano. The song's live debut, at the Kennedy Center, was broadcast live on a special edition of ''

The Oprah Winfrey Show ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'', often referred to as ''The Oprah Show'' or simply ''Oprah'', is an American daytime broadcast syndication, syndicated talk show that aired nationally for 25 seasons from September 8, 1986, to May 25, 2011, in Chicag ...

'' aired on January 19, 2009, in honor of the next day's inauguration of Barack Obama as President of the United States.

Background

The songwriting collaboration is a first between Foster and will.i.am. Regarding his intentions for the song, will.i.am said to

Oprah Winfrey Oprah Gail Winfrey (; born Orpah Gail Winfrey; January 29, 1954), or simply Oprah, is an American talk show host, television producer, actress, author, and philanthropist. She is best known for her talk show, ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'', br ...

on her show: "The meaning of this song is being proud of America. I wanted to write the new American anthem for this day and age—for this generation." will.i.am previously recorded a tribute to Obama, " Yes We Can", based on Obama's speech after the 2008 New Hampshire primary.

Production

Foster and will.i.am said that they wrote most of the song in a single evening at Foster's home.Stevenson, Jane (2009-01-21).
Foster's America
, ''

Toronto Sun The ''Toronto Sun'' is an English-language tabloid format, tabloid newspaper published daily in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The newspaper is one of several ''Sun'' tabloids published by Postmedia Network. The newspaper's offices is located at Pos ...

''. Retrieved on 2009-02-10. The recording came together quickly. Foster recorded Hill's vocals on January 15 in Tennessee, will.i.am recorded Bono's portion on January 17, and Blige contributed her vocals on January 18, right after performing at Obama's pre-inauguration concert at the

Lincoln Memorial The Lincoln Memorial is a U.S. national memorial built to honor the 16th president of the United States, Abraham Lincoln. It is on the western end of the National Mall in Washington, D.C., across from the Washington Monument, and is in the ...

. Seal travelled to D.C. from Cannes to record his part on January 17–18.

References

{{authority control 2009 songs Will.i.am songs Songs written by David Foster Songs written by will.i.am Songs written by George Pajon Interscope Records singles