Baracksdubs

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] The channel was a Maker Studios partner from 2012 to 2015.^[3][4] Afterwards, Saleh formed his own company, Spare Time Entertainment.^[5]

Baracksdubs
Channel logo
YouTube information
Created by	Fadi Saleh
Years active	2012–2019
Genre	Comedy
Subscribers	1.48 million
Total views	309.7 million
Network	Maker Studios (2012–2015) Spare Time Entertainment (2015–2019)
Last updated: October 5, 2024

Episodes

Song	Artist	Released	Ref
"Drink To That"	Rihanna	January 4, 2012	[1][2]
"Born This Way"	Lady Gaga	January 10, 2012	[6][7][8]
"Sexy and I Know It"	LMFAO	March 26, 2012	[1]
"Call Me Maybe"	Carly Rae Jepsen	June 4, 2012	[9][10]
"Boyfriend"	Justin Bieber	June 24, 2012	[11]
"What Makes You Beautiful"	One Direction	July 20, 2012	[12]
"Hot n Cold" (sung by both Obama and Mitt Romney)	Katy Perry	October 15, 2012	[13]
"U Can't Touch This"	MC Hammer	November 6, 2012	[14]
"Deck The Halls"	Traditional	December 19, 2012	[15]
'SexyBack"	Justin Timberlake	January 21, 2013	[16]
"Pokémon Theme"	Jason Paige	February 4, 2013	[17]
"Get Lucky"	Daft Punk	June 24, 2013	[18]
"All Gold Everything"	Trinidad James	July 15, 2013
"Blurred Lines" (sung only by Bill Clinton)	Robin Thicke	July 23, 2013	[19][20]
"Made in the USA"	Demi Lovato	August 13, 2013	[21][22]
"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	[23]
"Do What U Want"	Lady Gaga	January 9, 2014	[24]
"Timber" (sung by both Obama and Hillary Clinton)	Pitbull	April 15, 2014	[25]
"Birthday" (sung only by Ellen DeGeneres)	Katy Perry	June 10, 2014	[26]
"Fancy"	Iggy Azalea	August 5, 2014	[27][28]
"Problem"	Ariana Grande	August 19, 2014	[29][30]
"Uptown Funk"	Mark Ronson feat. Bruno Mars	January 27, 2015	[31]
"Shake it Off"	Taylor Swift	February 9, 2015	[32]
"Anaconda" (sung only by the characters of SpongeBob SquarePants)	Nicki Minaj	May 18, 2015
"Can't Feel My Face"	The Weeknd	September 7, 2015	[33][34]
"Thriller"	Michael Jackson	October 28, 2015	[35]
"Hotline Bling"	Drake	December 14, 2015	[36]
"Jumpman"	Drake	January 5, 2016	[37]
"Sorry"	Justin Bieber	January 25, 2016	[38][39]
"Panda"	Desiigner	April 26, 2016	[40]
"No"	Meghan Trainor	May 3, 2016	[41]
"All I Do Is Win" (sung only by Donald Trump)	DJ Khaled	May 23, 2016	[42]
"Work"	Rihanna	May 30, 2016	[43]
"Power" (sung only by Bernie Sanders)	Kanye West	June 6, 2016	[44]
"One Dance"	Drake	June 27, 2016	[45]
"FDT"	YG	July 26, 2016	[46]
"Cut It"	O.T. Genasis	August 9, 2016
"Can't Stop the Feeling!"	Justin Timberlake	September 3, 2016	[47]
"Stressed Out"	Twenty One Pilots	November 30, 2016	[48]
"All I Want for Christmas Is You"	Mariah Carey	December 22, 2016	[49][50]
"Let Me Love You"	DJ Snake	December 26, 2016	[51]
"Starboy"	The Weeknd	January 11, 2017	[52]
"Alright"	Kendrick Lamar	January 17, 2017	[53]
"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,^[12][14][54] Gawker,^[9] Rolling Stone,^[10] Yahoo!,^[11] Mashable,^[55] and several other online news publications.^[1][13][56]

References

1. Murray, Rheana (March 30, 2012). "Barack Obama sings 'Sexy and I Know It' by LMFAO in viral YouTube video". New York Daily News. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
2. Jaworski, Michelle (July 16, 2012). "Barack's Dubs: How a biochemistry student makes President Obama sing". Daily Dot. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
3. "5 Questions With... 5Qs with… Will Keenan, Formerly of Maker Studios". videoink.com. 3 September 2013. Retrieved 18 December 2013.
4. Arnold, Gage (February 27, 2014). "Creator of 'Baracksdubs' hopes to turn viral videos into vehicle for change". Daily Beacon. University of Tennessee. Retrieved June 18, 2014.
5. Harrington, Carly (September 1, 2015). "Baracksdubs to relaunch with growth plans". Knoxville News Sentinel. Retrieved June 12, 2016.
6. "President Obama Sings 'Born This Way' By Lady Gaga In Mashup (VIDEO)". Huffington Post. January 11, 2012. Retrieved December 13, 2013.
7. Pfeiffer, Eric (January 12, 2012). "Video: President Obama sings "Born This Way" by Lady Gaga". Yahoo News. Retrieved December 13, 2013.
8. "Obama 'sings' Lady Gaga's 'Born This Way'". USA Today. January 13, 2012. Retrieved December 13, 2013.
9. 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.
10. "President Obama 'Sings' 'Call Me Maybe'". Rolling Stone. June 5, 2012. Retrieved November 8, 2012.
11. Melissa Knowles (June 26, 2012). "Viral Video Mashup of President Obama 'Singing' Justin Bieber's 'Boyfriend'". Yahoo!. Retrieved November 8, 2012.
12. "Barack Obama Sings One Direction's 'What Makes You Beautiful' (VIDEO)". Huffington Post. July 23, 2012. Retrieved November 8, 2012.
13. Mark Silva (October 16, 2012). "Obama, Romney: 'Hot and Cold' — Web-Fun ala Katy Perry". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved November 8, 2012.
14. "Barack Obama Sings 'U Can't Touch This' (VIDEO)". Huffington Post UK. November 7, 2012. Retrieved November 8, 2012.
15. "Obama Sings 'Deck The Halls' (VIDEO)". Huffington Post. December 12, 2012. Retrieved December 13, 2013.
16. "Obama Sings 'SexyBack' By Justin Timberlake: BaracksDubs' Inaugural Cover (VIDEO)". Huffington Post. January 22, 2013. Retrieved December 13, 2013.
17. "Barack Obama Sings Pokémon Theme". The Huffington Post. February 5, 2013. Retrieved July 18, 2016.
18. Locker, Melissa (June 25, 2013). "WATCH: Barack Obama Sings Daft Punk's 'Get Lucky'". Time. Retrieved December 13, 2013.
19. Oldenburg, Ann (July 25, 2013). "Bill Clinton sings 'Blurred Lines'". USA Today. Retrieved December 13, 2013.
20. Locker, Melissa (June 24, 2013). "WATCH: WATCH: Bill Clinton Sings Robin Thicke's 'Blurred Lines'". Time. Retrieved December 13, 2013.
21. Savage, Lesley (August 16, 2013). "President Obama "sings" Demi Lovato's "Made in the USA"". CBS News. Retrieved December 14, 2013.
22. "Obama Sings 'Made In The USA' By Demi Lovato Thanks To BaracksDubs (VIDEO)". Huffington Post. August 14, 2013. Retrieved December 14, 2013.
23. "Barack Obama Sings 'Jingle Bells' Because We've All Been Very Good This Year". Huffington Post. December 10, 2013. Retrieved December 14, 2013.
24. Goodman, William (January 9, 2014). "Watch Barack Obama 'Sing' Lady Gaga's 'Do What U Want'". Huffington Post. Retrieved January 11, 2014.
25. "Barack Obama And Hillary Clinton 'Sing' Timber By Pitbull (VIDEO)". Huffington Post. April 16, 2014. Retrieved May 2, 2014.
26. Goodman, William (June 12, 2014). "Ellen DeGeneres Covers Katy Perry's 'Birthday' Without Singing A Single Note". Huffington Post. Retrieved June 18, 2014.
27. Stone, Avery (August 8, 2014). "Barack Obama Gets 'Fancy' In Latest BaracksDubs". Huffington Post. Retrieved August 14, 2014.
28. 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.
29. Strecker, Erin (August 20, 2014). "Watch President Obama 'Sing' Ariana Grande's 'Problem'". Billboard. Retrieved August 20, 2014.
30. Grossman, Samantha (August 20, 2014). "Watch President Obama Sing Ariana Grande's "Problem" (Sort Of)". Time. Retrieved August 20, 2014.
31. Grossman, Samantha (January 28, 2015). "Watch Barack Obama Sing 'Uptown Funk' (Sort Of)". Time. Retrieved January 29, 2015.
32. 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.
33. "WATCH: Barack Obama sings 'Can't feel my face' through Presidential speeches". Irish Independent. September 15, 2015. Retrieved October 11, 2015.
34. Goodman, Jessica (September 8, 2015). "Barack Obama sings 'Can't Feel My Face' in new 'Barack Dub'". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved October 11, 2015.
35. Locker, Melissa (October 29, 2015). "Watch President Obama 'Sing' Michael Jackson's 'Thriller'". Time. Retrieved November 11, 2015.
36. 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
37. Bieler, Des (January 6, 2016). "Pistons' amazing promo for Andre Drummond has Obama rapping to Drake's 'Jumpman'". Washington Post. Retrieved January 28, 2016.
38. McCluskey, Megan (January 26, 2016). "Watch Barack Obama Sing Justin Bieber's 'Sorry' in This Lip-Dub". Time. Retrieved January 28, 2016.
39. York, Chris (January 27, 2016). "Barack Obama Singing Justin Bieber's 'Sorry' By Baracksdubs Is Spectacular". Huffington Post UK. Retrieved January 28, 2016.
40. Simmons, Ted (April 27, 2016). "Obama Raps Desiigner's "Panda" in Flawless Mash-Up Video". XXL. Retrieved June 12, 2016.
41. 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.
42. Jaworski, Michelle (May 24, 2016). "Donald Trump gets a lip-dub anthem, sings DJ Khaled classic". Retrieved July 18, 2016.
43. Scott, Sydney (June 1, 2016). "This Dub of Obama Singing 'Work' is Actually Pretty Funny". Essence.
44. Hatchett, Keisha (June 6, 2016). "This Dope Mashup Has Bernie Sanders Singing Kanye West's "Power"". Complex. Retrieved June 12, 2016.
45. Stutz, Colin (June 27, 2016). "Watch President Obama 'Sing' Drake's 'One Dance'". Retrieved July 18, 2016.
46. 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.
47. "Barack Obama 'Sings' Justin Timberlake's 'Can't Stop The Feeling'!". CKIS-FM. September 5, 2016. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
48. "Watch: Barack Obama Sings Twenty One Pilots' Hit "Stressed Out"". WDZH. December 1, 2016. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
49. Locker, Melissa (December 23, 2016). "Watch Barack Obama 'Sing' Mariah Carey's 'All I Want For Christmas is You'". Time. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
50. Dicker, Ron (December 23, 2016). "Barack Obama 'Singing' 'All I Want For Christmas' Is A Gift". Huffington Post. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
51. Moran, Lee (December 27, 2016). "President Barack Obama Beliebs In This 'Let Me Love You' Parody". Huffington Post. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
52. "Barack Obama "Sings" The Weeknd's 'Starboy'!". CKIS-FM. January 15, 2017. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
53. Stutz, Colin (January 30, 2017). "Barack Obama 'Sings' Kendrick Lamar, Promises 'We Gonna be Alright': Watch". Billboard. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
54. "Barack Obama Sings 'Call Me Maybe' By Carly Rae Jepsen (VIDEO)". Huffington Post. June 4, 2012. Retrieved November 8, 2012.
55. Brian Anthony Hernandez (May 22, 2012). "'Call Me Maybe' Parody Features Digital Obama, Romney [VIDEO]". Mashable. Retrieved November 8, 2012.
56. 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.