Grammy nominated rock band Daughtry, fronted by former American Idol finalist Chris Daughtry, is doing its part to encourage young voters. The rockers have re-recorded “Feels Like the First Time,” originally made famous by Foreigner in 1977, as the theme song for CNN’s League of First Time Voters initiative. The music video premiered on “Campbell Brown: Election Center” on August 18 and is 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 September 9.
“We strongly believe that it doesn’t matter who you vote for, as long as you vote,” said Daughtry in a statement. “Getting to rerecord a classic song like this was a real honor for us, and we hope it helps inspire people to vote.”
Foreigner’s Mick Jones, who wrote “Feels Like the First Time,” said Daughtry’s version of the song “is very cool and has more than captured the essence of the original. I am delighted that the song will be used in this critical initiative.”
The video for “Feels Like the First Time” was created by CNN and includes images of first-time voters of all ages along with Senators 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,” added 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.”
Music industry veteran Mark Shimmel, a music consultant for CNN who played a major role in the project’s creative development and took the project to Daughtry’s management team, noted, “I’ve always been proud of the way our industry supports important social causes. To me, this collaboration was an extremely important way of helping define, through music, a critical moment in American history.”
