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Campaign Songs - My Least Favorite


Worst Uses of Campaign Songs

I already talked about three examples of successful campaign songs, now I'm going to be looking into three songs that I think didn't quite hit the mark. Below I have given some different reasons why these songs were possibly not the best choice for the candidates.

*Note: This list does not relate to my personal feelings or views about the candidates. 

1. "The Official Donald Trump Jam" (performed by the Freedom Girls) - Donald Trump

In 2016, at Donald Trumps rally in Pensacola, Florida, three young women known as the Freedom girls performed what is known as "The Official Donald Trump Jam." Most people that watched were immediately skeptical. Beyond the messy choreography on stage and questionable singing, even the lyrics were poorly written. The first verse is a call and response from the girls that say, “Cowardice, are you serious? Apologies for freedom, I can’t handle this!” These are not the type of words that stick well with an audience and I would say are quite unprofessional given the setting. The unprofessional tone seems to fit the candidate but overall this song just did not sit right for most of its listens. The YouTube video for the song has approximately 21,000 likes and 69,000 dislikes. 

To listen to this song on YouTube, here is the link: "The Official Donald Trump Jam"


2. “Little Know Ye Who’s Coming” - John Quincy Adams

In 1828, John Quincy Adams One of the unique features of this song is that it includes the candidates name. It is very straightforward about the songs intention. I have an issue with this song for a number of reasons. First, this song is not entirely pleasant to listen to. It's extremely repetitive and has little musical qualities. Even the lyrics do not seem to fit all of the versus are warning us of the bad that's coming if John Quincy is not elected to office. 

Fears are comin', tears are comin', 
Plague and pestilence is comin', 
Hatin's comin', Satan's comin', 
If John Quincy not be comin'

For the rest of the lyrics check out Jet Lyrics' page (link)

Neither the lyrics or music in positive or uplifting message to support the candidate. It feels more like an advertisement than an actual song. You soon realize every line ends in the word "comin'" and has no music flow. I think customizing your theme song could be beneficial, but it must have more depth.

To listen to this song on YouTube, here is the link: "Little Know Ye Who's Coming"


3. "Roar" by Katy Perry - Hillary Clinton

Sometimes in order to reach out to a younger audience, candidates will use songs that are popular among the demographic. In the 2016 U.S. presidential elections candidate Hillary Clinton used Katy Perry's song "Roar" in a political advertisement and as her theme song. "Roar" was an extremely popular song that peaked at number one on Billboard's Hot 100 chart in 2013. Although the song was very successful in the music business, I do not think it did not make a good fit for a campaign. The lyrics are do not have a concrete phrase that relates to her campaign and is hard to take seriously. The music is too pop-like and stands out from the rest of the tone of the campaign. Campaign theme songs do not need to heavily relate in both lyrics of musical qualities, but it needs to adequately fit with one of those attributes. 

To watch Hillary's political advertisement featuring the song, here is the link: Roar TV Advertisement
To listen to this song on YouTube, here is the link: "Roar"

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