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SALT LAKE CITY -- President Obama earned the title "Crooner-in-Chief" for an impromptu musical performance at a Jan. 19 event in New York, and the president seems to have had more of an effect with his powerful pipes than he had originally planned.
The president originally drew attention to his talent for song at a fundraiser at Harlem's landmark Apollo theater. The crowd of about 1,400 had paid $200 each to hear Obama speak, but were also treated to a couple of lines of Al Green's "Let's Stay Together."
"Those guys didn't think I would do it," he laughed afterward. "I told you I was gonna do it."
"I cannot sing like you," he added, addressing Green. "But I just wanted to show my appreciation."
Video of the surprise performance quickly went viral on YouTube, garnering millions of views in the week following. It was not only the president people wanted to hear, though; sales of the original song jumped by 490 percent in the period ending Jan. 22, according to Nielsen.
With 16,000 downloads, the week following Obama's performance was the most successful online sales week for the song since Nielsen began tracking online sales in 2003.
Obama even impressed "American Idol" producer Nygel Lythgoe, who tweeted to Obama, "We loved your vocal performance so much we'd love to invite you on to #AmericanIdol this Season for a duet with Al Green."
Obama himself, though, poked fun at his singing at the annual Alfalfa Club dinner.
"At least my harshest critics can agree, I have a promising future as an Al Green impersonator," he said at the gathering of the elite of Washington that included former Presidents George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush.
The Obama campaign, at least, may recognize the potential value of capitalizing on the performance in the height of its popularity -- there is now a ringtone available for free download on the campaign website.
