As Rolling Stone reports, former President Barack Obama continued his annual tradition of highlighting his favorite books, movies and songs at the end of the year. This year, Fort Worth musician Leon Bridges made the cut with his song “Bad Bad News” and is listed along with other artists, such as Cardi B, Prince, Kurt Vile, H.E.R., The Carters, Brandi Carlile and Janelle Monae.
The year-end list “gives me a moment to pause and reflect on the year through the books, movies, and music that I found most thought-provoking, inspiring, or just plain loved,” said the former president in a Facebook post Friday. “It also gives me a chance to highlight talented authors, artists, and storytellers – some who are household names and others who you may not have heard of before.”
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Bridges could not be reached for comment but said on Instagram, “In great company. Thank you @barackobama.”
Bridges and the former president go back a ways. In February 2016, Bridges performed at the White House as part of the “In Performance at the White House” concert series, where he and other artists, such as Usher, Sam Moore, Brittany Howard and Demi Lovato, paid tribute to Ray Charles. Later that year, Obama released a summer playlist that included Bridges’ “Smooth Sailin’ ” and invited the R&B singer to his final birthday celebration as president.
As we previously reported, Bridges is nominated for two Grammys in the categories Best Traditional R&B Performance (“Bet Ain’t Worth the Hand”) and Best R&B Album (Good Thing). And to think, just five years ago, he was washing dishes and playing open mic nights.
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