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Baracksdubs is a popular YouTube channel and series that uses Barack Obama speeches to create cover songs, generally of popular songs. The channel was created by Fadi Saleh as a then-freshman student of the University of Tennessee.[1][2] Saleh formed his own company, Spare Time Entertainment in 2015.[3]

History

Fadi Salah started the channel when he was a 19 year old freshman and biochemistry major at the University of Tennessee.[4][1] He told the Daily Dot he came up with idea of having Barack Obama sing songs while in the shower in December 2011.[5] His first video, which had Obama singing “Drink to That” by Rihanna, was posted the following January.[4]

Salah didn’t immediately advertise his involvement in the channel, in spite of the videos’popularity. It wasn’t until his video, “Born This Way“, went viral that he shared the news with friends. By July 2012, the YouTube channel had 127,000 subscribers and an online merchandise store.[4] Each video took approximately three weeks to create and would sometimes include superimposing the president’s face on the artist’s body to create the effect of him dancing.[4][6][7] Videos would sometimes feature other famous figures.[8]

In September 2015, Salah announced his new company, Spare Time Entertainment, with the intent of turning his hobby into an online entertainment brand. By this time, the YouTube channel had amassed over 900,000 subscribers.[3] The September 1st announcement was followed by a relaunch of Baracksdubs the following week. Salah had incorporated proprietary technology that reduced video editing time from approximately 100 hours to a single day by searching for specific words in source material.[3]

In February 2017, following Donald Trump‘s inauguration, Baracksdubs released a video of Obama singing Kendrick Lamar‘s “Alright“, whose lyrics had been used as a protest chant against the new president.[9]

Episodes

Song Artist Released Ref
“Drink To That“ Rihanna January 4, 2012 [1][2]
“Born This Way“ Lady Gaga January 10, 2012 [10][11][12]
“Sexy and I Know It“ LMFAO March 26, 2012 [1]
“Call Me Maybe“ Carly Rae Jepsen June 4, 2012 [13][14]
“Boyfriend“ Justin Bieber June 24, 2012 [15]
“What Makes You Beautiful“ One Direction July 20, 2012 [16]
“Hot n Cold” (sung by both Obama and Mitt Romney) Katy Perry October 15, 2012 [17]
“U Can’t Touch This“ MC Hammer November 6, 2012 [18]
“Deck The Halls“ Traditional December 19, 2012 [19]
‘SexyBack“ Justin Timberlake January 21, 2013 [20]
“Pokémon Theme“ Jason Paige February 4, 2013 [21]
“Get Lucky“ Daft Punk June 24, 2013 [22]
“All Gold Everything“ Trinidad James July 15, 2013
“Blurred Lines” (sung only by Bill Clinton) Robin Thicke July 23, 2013 [23][24]
“Made in the USA“ Demi Lovato August 13, 2013 [25][26]
“Best Song Ever” (sung only by co-anchors on the Today Show) One Direction August 23, 2013
“It’s All Good” (sung by both Obama and his wife Michelle) Ne-Yo October 9, 2013
“Jingle Bells“ Traditional December 9, 2013 [27]
“Do What U Want“ Lady Gaga January 9, 2014 [28]
“Timber” (sung by both Obama and Hillary Clinton) Pitbull April 15, 2014 [29]
“Birthday” (sung only by Ellen DeGeneres) Katy Perry June 10, 2014 [30]
“Fancy“ Iggy Azalea August 5, 2014 [31][32]
“Problem“ Ariana Grande August 19, 2014 [33][34]
“Uptown Funk“ Mark Ronson feat. Bruno Mars January 27, 2015 [35]
“Shake it Off“ Taylor Swift February 9, 2015 [36]
“Anaconda” (sung only by the characters of SpongeBob SquarePants) Nicki Minaj May 18, 2015
“Can’t Feel My Face“ The Weeknd September 7, 2015 [37][38]
“Thriller“ Michael Jackson October 28, 2015 [39]
“Hotline Bling“ Drake December 14, 2015 [40]
“Jumpman“ Drake January 5, 2016 [41]
“Sorry“ Justin Bieber January 25, 2016 [42][43]
“Panda“ Desiigner April 26, 2016 [44]
“No“ Meghan Trainor May 3, 2016 [45]
“All I Do Is Win” (sung only by Donald Trump) DJ Khaled May 23, 2016 [46]
“Work“ Rihanna May 30, 2016 [47]
“Power” (sung only by Bernie Sanders) Kanye West June 6, 2016 [48]
“One Dance“ Drake June 27, 2016 [49]
“FDT“ YG July 26, 2016 [50]
“Cut It“ O.T. Genasis August 9, 2016
“Can’t Stop the Feeling!“ Justin Timberlake September 3, 2016 [51]
“Stressed Out“ Twenty One Pilots November 30, 2016 [52]
“All I Want for Christmas Is You“ Mariah Carey December 22, 2016 [53][54]
“Let Me Love You“ DJ Snake December 26, 2016 [55]
“Starboy“ The Weeknd January 11, 2017 [56]
“Alright“ Kendrick Lamar January 17, 2017 [57]
“Happy Birthday to You“ Traditional January 23, 2017
“Missing you” Erik Hassle January 30, 2017
“Respect“ Aretha Franklin August 18, 2018
“Money” (sung only by Bernie Sanders) Cardi B August 21, 2019
“Woah” Krypto9095 November 27, 2019

Media coverage

The videos have been featured on Huffington Post,[16][18][58] Gawker,[13] Rolling Stone,[14] Yahoo!,[15] Mashable,[59] and several other online news publications.[1][17][60] Following Barack Obama’s reelection in 2012, Today announced Baracksdubs first post-election video of U Can’t Touch This by MC Hammer.[61]

Reception

The video for “Uptown Funk” was called “cleverly edited” by ABC7 New York and Hello!.[62][63] HuffPost UK called the video of Obama singing Michael Jackson’s Thriller “The best thing you’ll see today.”[64] The video for “Fuck Donald Trump” by YG and Nipsey Hussle, released in July 2016, but went viral on Facebook in November, the week of the 2016 Presidential Election, reaching 26 million views by the end of the week.[5] The International Business Times reported a mix of comments on the video “Fancy”, including one that said, “The worst song in history by the worst artist in history, dubbed by the worst US President in history. Suck it down, people. Suck it down” and another that said, “Hilarious !! Better than Iggy”.[65]

The videos have been shared on social media by the artists whose songs were used, including LMFAO and Justin Beiber.[4] Iggy Azalea shared the video made of her song “Fancy” to her followers on Twitter.[65] “Uptown Funk” producer, Mark Ronson, shared the video on Twitter with the message, “Bless you for this, @barcksdubs,” according to Hello! Magazine.[63]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Murray, Rheana (March 30, 2012). “Barack Obama sings ‘Sexy and I Know It’ by LMFAO in viral YouTube video”. New York Daily News. Archived from the original on November 4, 2013. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
  2. ^ a b Jaworski, Michelle (July 16, 2012). “Barack’s Dubs: How a biochemistry student makes President Obama sing”. Daily Dot. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
  3. ^ a b c Harrington, Carly (September 1, 2015). “Baracksdubs to relaunch with growth plans”. Knoxville News Sentinel. Archived from the original on March 11, 2016. Retrieved June 12, 2016.
  4. ^ a b c d e “Barack’s Dubs: How a biochemistry student makes President Obama sing”. dailydot.com. 2012-07-16. Retrieved 2026-01-29.
  5. ^ a b “Baracksdubs Made His Name Putting Words In Obama’s Mouth. Now He Prepares For Trump”. Fast Company. 2017-01-18. Archived from the original on 2022-08-15. Retrieved 2026-02-03.
  6. ^ Waxman, Olivia B. (December 14, 2015). “Watch President Obama ‘Sing’ Drake’s ‘Hotline Bling’“. Time Magazine. Retrieved January 29, 2026.
  7. ^ “President Obama raps ‘U Can’t Touch This’ in new viral music video”. TODAY.com. 2012-11-07. Retrieved 2026-01-29.
  8. ^ “President Obama sings ‘Uptown Funk’ in funny YouTube mix”. 6abc Philadelphia. 2015-01-30. Retrieved 2026-01-29.
  9. ^ Press, Associated (2016-03-12). “Donald Trump Calls Off Chicago Rally Due to Security Concerns”. Billboard. Retrieved 2026-01-29.
  10. ^ “President Obama Sings ‘Born This Way’ By Lady Gaga In Mashup (VIDEO)”. Huffington Post. January 11, 2012. Retrieved December 13, 2013.
  11. ^ Pfeiffer, Eric (January 12, 2012). “Video: President Obama sings “Born This Way” by Lady Gaga”. Yahoo News. Retrieved December 13, 2013.
  12. ^ “Obama ‘sings’ Lady Gaga’s ‘Born This Way’“. USA Today. January 13, 2012. Retrieved December 13, 2013.
  13. ^ a b Louis Peitzman (June 4, 2012). “Finally, Barack Obama Covers ‘Call Me Maybe”. Gawker. Archived from the original on November 22, 2012. Retrieved November 8, 2012.
  14. ^ a b “President Obama ‘Sings’ ‘Call Me Maybe’“. Rolling Stone. June 5, 2012. Archived from the original on July 12, 2012. Retrieved November 8, 2012.
  15. ^ a b Melissa Knowles (June 26, 2012). “Viral Video Mashup of President Obama ‘Singing’ Justin Bieber’s ‘Boyfriend’“. Yahoo!. Retrieved November 8, 2012.
  16. ^ a b “Barack Obama Sings One Direction’s ‘What Makes You Beautiful’ (VIDEO)”. Huffington Post. July 23, 2012. Retrieved November 8, 2012.
  17. ^ a b Mark Silva (October 16, 2012). “Obama, Romney: ‘Hot and Cold’ — Web-Fun ala Katy Perry”. Bloomberg.com. Retrieved November 8, 2012.
  18. ^ a b “Barack Obama Sings ‘U Can’t Touch This’ (VIDEO)”. Huffington Post UK. November 7, 2012. Retrieved November 8, 2012.
  19. ^ “Obama Sings ‘Deck The Halls’ (VIDEO)”. Huffington Post. December 12, 2012. Retrieved December 13, 2013.
  20. ^ “Obama Sings ‘SexyBack’ By Justin Timberlake: BaracksDubs’ Inaugural Cover (VIDEO)”. Huffington Post. January 22, 2013. Retrieved December 13, 2013.
  21. ^ “Barack Obama Sings Pokémon Theme”. The Huffington Post. February 5, 2013. Retrieved July 18, 2016.
  22. ^ Locker, Melissa (June 25, 2013). “WATCH: Barack Obama Sings Daft Punk’s ‘Get Lucky’“. Time. Retrieved December 13, 2013.
  23. ^ Oldenburg, Ann (July 25, 2013). “Bill Clinton sings ‘Blurred Lines’“. USA Today. Retrieved December 13, 2013.
  24. ^ Locker, Melissa (June 24, 2013). “WATCH: WATCH: Bill Clinton Sings Robin Thicke’s ‘Blurred Lines’“. Time. Retrieved December 13, 2013.
  25. ^ Savage, Lesley (August 16, 2013). “President Obama “sings” Demi Lovato’s “Made in the USA”“. CBS News. Retrieved December 14, 2013.
  26. ^ “Obama Sings ‘Made In The USA’ By Demi Lovato Thanks To BaracksDubs (VIDEO)”. Huffington Post. August 14, 2013. Retrieved December 14, 2013.
  27. ^ “Barack Obama Sings ‘Jingle Bells’ Because We’ve All Been Very Good This Year”. Huffington Post. December 10, 2013. Retrieved December 14, 2013.
  28. ^ Goodman, William (January 9, 2014). “Watch Barack Obama ‘Sing’ Lady Gaga’s ‘Do What U Want’“. Huffington Post. Retrieved January 11, 2014.
  29. ^ “Barack Obama And Hillary Clinton ‘Sing’ Timber By Pitbull (VIDEO)”. Huffington Post. April 16, 2014. Retrieved May 2, 2014.
  30. ^ Goodman, William (June 12, 2014). “Ellen DeGeneres Covers Katy Perry’s ‘Birthday’ Without Singing A Single Note”. Huffington Post. Retrieved June 18, 2014.
  31. ^ Stone, Avery (August 8, 2014). “Barack Obama Gets ‘Fancy’ In Latest BaracksDubs”. Huffington Post. Retrieved August 14, 2014.
  32. ^ Somosot, Janice (August 7, 2014). “Iggy Azalea and U.S. President Barack Obama’s Fancy YouTube Mash-Up Video: Check It Out Here [WATCH VIDEO]”. International Business Times. Archived from the original on August 11, 2014. Retrieved August 14, 2014.
  33. ^ Strecker, Erin (August 20, 2014). “Watch President Obama ‘Sing’ Ariana Grande’s ‘Problem’“. Billboard. Retrieved August 20, 2014.
  34. ^ Grossman, Samantha (August 20, 2014). “Watch President Obama Sing Ariana Grande’s “Problem” (Sort Of)”. Time. Retrieved August 20, 2014.
  35. ^ Grossman, Samantha (January 28, 2015). “Watch Barack Obama Sing ‘Uptown Funk’ (Sort Of)”. Time. Retrieved January 29, 2015.
  36. ^ Boardman, Madeline (February 10, 2015). “President Obama, Charli XCX Cover Taylor Swift’s “Shake It Off” In Lip Dub, Remix Videos”. Us Weekly. Retrieved February 11, 2015.
  37. ^ “WATCH: Barack Obama sings ‘Can’t feel my face’ through Presidential speeches”. Irish Independent. September 15, 2015. Retrieved October 11, 2015.
  38. ^ Goodman, Jessica (September 8, 2015). “Barack Obama sings ‘Can’t Feel My Face’ in new ‘Barack Dub’“. Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved October 11, 2015.
  39. ^ Locker, Melissa (October 29, 2015). “Watch President Obama ‘Sing’ Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller’“. Time. Retrieved November 11, 2015.
  40. ^ Berg, Katie Wilson (December 15, 2015). “Even President Obama Is Remixing Drake’s ‘Hotline Bling’ (Sort Of): Watch”. Archived from the original on December 17, 2015. Retrieved December 18, 2015. Alt URL
  41. ^ Bieler, Des (January 6, 2016). “Pistons’ amazing promo for Andre Drummond has Obama rapping to Drake’s ‘Jumpman’“. Washington Post. Retrieved January 28, 2016.
  42. ^ McCluskey, Megan (January 26, 2016). “Watch Barack Obama Sing Justin Bieber’s ‘Sorry’ in This Lip-Dub”. Time. Retrieved January 28, 2016.
  43. ^ York, Chris (January 27, 2016). “Barack Obama Singing Justin Bieber’s ‘Sorry’ By Baracksdubs Is Spectacular”. Huffington Post UK. Retrieved January 28, 2016.
  44. ^ Simmons, Ted (April 27, 2016). “Obama Raps Desiigner’s “Panda” in Flawless Mash-Up Video”. XXL. Retrieved June 12, 2016.
  45. ^ Briones, Isis (May 5, 2016). “You Have to Watch This Hilarious Barack Obama Dubsmash of Meghan Trainor’s “No”“. Teen Vogue. Retrieved June 12, 2016.
  46. ^ Jaworski, Michelle (May 24, 2016). “Donald Trump gets a lip-dub anthem, sings DJ Khaled classic”. Retrieved July 18, 2016.
  47. ^ Scott, Sydney (June 1, 2016). “This Dub of Obama Singing ‘Work’ is Actually Pretty Funny”. Essence.
  48. ^ Hatchett, Keisha (June 6, 2016). “This Dope Mashup Has Bernie Sanders Singing Kanye West’s “Power”“. Complex. Retrieved June 12, 2016.
  49. ^ Stutz, Colin (June 27, 2016). “Watch President Obama ‘Sing’ Drake’s ‘One Dance’“. Retrieved July 18, 2016.
  50. ^ Fleischer, Adam (July 26, 2016). “President Obama Will Never Say ‘Fuck Donald Trump’ — Except In This YG Mash-Up”. MTV News. Archived from the original on July 27, 2016. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
  51. ^ “Barack Obama ‘Sings’ Justin Timberlake’s ‘Can’t Stop The Feeling’!”. CKIS-FM. September 5, 2016. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
  52. ^ “Watch: Barack Obama Sings Twenty One Pilots’ Hit “Stressed Out”“. WDZH. December 1, 2016. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
  53. ^ Locker, Melissa (December 23, 2016). “Watch Barack Obama ‘Sing’ Mariah Carey’s ‘All I Want For Christmas is You’“. Time. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
  54. ^ Dicker, Ron (December 23, 2016). “Barack Obama ‘Singing’ ‘All I Want For Christmas’ Is A Gift”. Huffington Post. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
  55. ^ Moran, Lee (December 27, 2016). “President Barack Obama Beliebs In This ‘Let Me Love You’ Parody”. Huffington Post. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
  56. ^ “Barack Obama “Sings” The Weeknd’s ‘Starboy’!”. CKIS-FM. January 15, 2017. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
  57. ^ Stutz, Colin (January 30, 2017). “Barack Obama ‘Sings’ Kendrick Lamar, Promises ‘We Gonna be Alright’: Watch”. Billboard. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
  58. ^ “Barack Obama Sings ‘Call Me Maybe’ By Carly Rae Jepsen (VIDEO)”. Huffington Post. June 4, 2012. Retrieved November 8, 2012.
  59. ^ Brian Anthony Hernandez (May 22, 2012). “‘Call Me Maybe’ Parody Features Digital Obama, Romney [VIDEO]”. Mashable. Retrieved November 8, 2012.
  60. ^ Natasha Chandel (June 26, 2012). “President Obama Strikes Again With Justin Bieber ‘Boyfriend’ Mashup”. MTV Newsroom. Archived from the original on July 1, 2012. Retrieved November 8, 2012.
  61. ^ “President Obama raps ‘U Can’t Touch This’ in new viral music video”. TODAY.com. 2012-11-07. Retrieved 2026-02-03.
  62. ^ “President Obama sings ‘Uptown Funk’ in funny YouTube mix”. ABC7 New York. 2015-01-30. Retrieved 2026-03-24.
  63. ^ a b “Video of Barack Obama singing Uptown Funk goes viral”. HELLO!. 2015-01-29. Retrieved 2026-03-24.
  64. ^ “President Obama Singing MJ’s ‘Thriller’ Is The Best Thing You’ll See Today”. HuffPost UK. 2015-10-29. Archived from the original on 2025-07-22. Retrieved 2026-03-24.
  65. ^ a b Owoseje, Toyin (2014-08-07). “Barack Obama Raps Iggy Azalea’s Fancy in Youtube Mash-up”. International Business Times UK. Retrieved 2026-03-24.