American Idol finalist Chris Daughtry is helping CNN in their youth vote effort. The network has tapped Daughtry to sing a cover of Foreigner’s “Feels Like the First Time” for the “League of First Time Voters” campaign. The song, a hit during the Carter administration, will be included in next month’s Daughtry Deluxe album. The video will premiere on Campbell Brown: Election Center tonight.
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Daughtry Records Song for CNN’s League of First Time Voters
Cover of ‘Feels Like the First Time’ to Be Theme Song for Initiative, Featured on New Daughtry Deluxe Album
CNN today announced that platinum-selling recording artists Daughtry have rerecorded “Feels Like the First Time,” originally made famous by Foreigner in 1977, as the theme song for the network’s League of First Time Voters initiative. The music video will premiere on Campbell Brown: Election Center on Monday, August 18, and will be available on CNN.com via video on-demand.
The single will appear on Daughtry Deluxe, the band’s upcoming deluxe version of its debut album, due out Tuesday, Sept. 9.
“We strongly believe that it doesn’t matter who you vote for, as long as you vote,” said Chris Daughtry, lead singer of the Grammy-nominated band. “Getting to rerecord a classic song like this was a real honor for us, and we hope it helps inspire people to vote.”
“Daughtry’s version of the song is very cool and has more than captured the essence of the original,” said Foreigner’s Mick Jones, who wrote “Feels Like the First Time,” which launched his band in the late 1970s. “I am delighted that the song will be used in this critical initiative.”
The song was recorded in Los Angeles in April 2008 and produced by Howard Benson, a Grammy-nominated producer of Daughtry and other bands such as My Chemical Romance and All-American Rejects. The video for “Feels Like the First Time” was created by CNN and includes images of first-time voters of all ages, as well as Sens. John McCain and Barack
Obama on the campaign trail.
“We felt this song was a distinctive way to help motivate first-time voters — and, in fact, to redefine what it means to be a first-time voter,” said Andy Mitchell, vice president of interactive marketing for CNN Worldwide. “We wanted to reach not just those who have recently turned 18 but also those who are newly energized to vote in this election. Daughtry was the perfect band to bring this classic song back to life in a new and exciting way.”
“Having been in the music business for many years, I’ve always been proud of the way our industry supports important social causes,” said Mark Shimmel, a music consultant for CNN who played a major role in the project’s creative development and took the project to 19 Entertainment, Daughtry’s management team. “To me, this collaboration was an extremely important way of helping define, through music, a critical moment in American history.”
CNN’s League of First Time Voters is a multi-platform programming initiative designed to inform, involve and empower individuals passionate about this election cycle. The initiative’s online home, located at www.CNN.com/League, enables users to educate themselves about the candidates, key issues and the election process in general. Additionally, www.CNN.com/League provides access to detailed candidate profiles and platforms; examination of salient issues; video of first-timer voters weighing in on the candidates and issues; and links to relevant political Web sites and other resources.
On the air, the initiative includes a series of special reports that appear across CNN’s programming, including on Campbell Brown: Election Center and American Morning, and throughout the weekend on CNN.
19/RCA recording artist Daughtry achieved global success with its self-titled debut, the biggest selling artist release of the past two years. A hit in both artistic and commercial terms, the band’s Grammy-nominated, quadruple-platinum debut accomplished the rare feat of charting three No. 1 hits, “It’s Not Over”, “Home” and “Feels Like Tonight.” Daughtry is winding up being on the road for the past two years, selling out most shows with highlights such as opening for Bon Jovi on an arena tour this past spring. Currently at work on its sophomore effort due for release in 2009, the band will release a “deluxe” version of its smash debut on Tuesday, Sept. 9.