Whether you consider yourself a Republican or a Democrat, Independent or blissfully unaware, one thing’s for certain when it comes to President Barack Obama: the man can sing. While speaking at a fundraiser at Harlem’s historic Apollo Theater, Obama belted a couple phrases of Al Green’s “Let’s Stay Together” and even the original soul singer is in shock from what he heard.

This past Thursday night, about 1,400 supporters attended the fundraiser, which included performances from Al Green and India.Arie. And after singing a few bars of Green’s classic hit, Obama addressed the singer in the audience, “Don’t worry Rev, I cannot sing like you, but I just wanted to show my appreciation.”

And Green is returning the compliment, telling TMZ that Obama’s singing is “terrific” and ”he nailed it.”

Even more so, American Idol associate music director and vocal coach Michael Orland is a little too excited about Obama’s musical abilities.

“I swear to you, if he auditioned for me in the big stadium [rounds], I would have put him through to the producers immediately,” Orland told MTV News. “I think he was really charming and had a great voice…I thought his phrasing was great, how he broke it up and really worked the room while he was doing it.” All that, after two lines of lyrics.

Obama’s pitch is pretty impressive though. “He was in the exact same key [as Al Green's recording]. To pull that out of the air, with everything perfectly in tune, I was really impressed,” Orland added.

However, Al Green said, “I was thrilled that the President even mentioned my name, and if the President can get the economy going again and get everything going that he wants to, then we’ll all be together.”

Strangest backhanded compliment ever, straight from a supporter who performed at the fundraiser…

Anyway, watch the short clip below:

What’d you think of Obama’s singing abilities? Should he try out for ‘The X Factor’ if he doesn’t score a second term? (There’s no age limit on that show…)

Ashley is a UC San Diego grad who is holding on way too tightly to a potential career in magazines and goes to Vegas all too often. She’s fascinated with celebrities and strawberry beer and doubles as a pathological texter/emailer/blogger. Feed the addiction with tweets @cashleelee. Thanks in advance.

What do we really know about Betty White? Is she really as old as she claims? Or is this “90th Birthday Party” all a sham to get gifts? Trust me, I play that game too. I’ve changed my birthday on Facebook more than once just to soak up a few more “Happy Bday” wall posts. Well President Obama (Or Barack as he likes to be known around here) is also pretty skeptical about the whole thing and he’s asked her to do the responsible thing and release her birth certificate.

GOP presidential candidates Rick Santorum and Mitt Romney came out ahead in Tuesday’s Iowa Caucus, with Ron Paul trailing closely behind. In the closest race in Iowa history, conservative Santorum and longtime frontrunner Romney both got 24.5% of the vote, with Santorum behind by only 8 measly votes. Ron Paul, a candidate many commentators had written off, received 21.5% of the vote. The caucus (because it’s first) basically predicts how the next year will go until a GOP challenger is chosen- so what we’ve got on our hands is a 3-way battle. Keep in mind, nothing’s a guarantee; Newt Gingrich (13.3 percent) and Rick Perry (10.3 percent) aren’t out of the race yet. It should be noted, however that Michele Bachmann (5 percent) did step down. But their not-so-great numbers mean getting back in the game won’t be easy. The New Hampshire primary is tomorrow, so stay tuned.

President Obama, America’s Commander in Chief, announced a new defense plan on Thursday that would cut $487 billion from the Pentagon’s defense budget in the next ten years. How would we save the money? By significantly downsizing the Army and Marine Corps ground troops. Lest the U.S. seem weak, the change will go along with an increased number of unmanned weapons and special forces, which are cheaper and for the most part safer. But is it a mistake to replace people with robots? We really don’t have any specific details yet, those won’t show up until the prez officially submits the plan to Congress for approval later this month.

Iran is getting closer to creating dangerous nuclear weapons. A week ago, they announced that Iranian scientists have produced the country’s first nuclear rods. Fuel-rods are a key step in the ultimate creation of an advanced nuclear weapon arsenal, and one the West thought Iran was incapable of. The last thing most U.S. politicians want is nukes in the hands of the Iranian government. Obama recently signed legislation toughening sanctions (financial penalties) against their production, and top two Republican Presidential contenders Romney and Santorum both announced they would consider launching military strikes against the country. So, basically, we’re nervous and scared.

The police showed up at the home of a little girl in Massachusetts to collect her overdue library books. 5-year-old Hailey of Charlton, Mass. had two books that were months overdue — tsk, tsk! — and the library (apparently worried they were dealing with a dangerous criminal?) contacted local police. Reportedly, Hailey burst into tears when the cops showed up and asked if she was going to be arrested and taken to jail… awwww! If you’re concerned, no, the offense won’t go on her permanent record.

Pic o’ the Week

Parent groups applauded Target for featuring a child with Downs Syndrome, 6-year-old Ryan, in their latest catalog. Here’s hoping retailers will continue to use more diverse models that accurately represent our population. Designers, are you listening?

If you’ve been on the internet at some point since Tuesday night (and if you’re reading this, then yes, I’m talking to you), then you’ve probably read one headline or another about the Iowa Caucus, which was one of the first “races” for the Republican presidential candidates. It’s usually supposed to be an accurate early indicator for who will win a political party’s nomination, but what happens when over 120,000 votes are tallied and a candidate leads by only eight votes? Should we even care about these caucuses at all?

To be honest, you shouldn’t really care about these results. The fact that one extra handful of people wrote Mitt Romney’s name down on a piece of paper (forget pregnant chads or digital votes, this caucus process is some serious old school stuff) really won’t determine the fate of these Republican candidates. Because those who caucused on Tuesday night are only a percentage of those who live in Iowa because even they’re only a percentage of the people who care a little about so many long speeches. Besides, these votes don’t even count for anything when it comes to the official nomination; people’s minds change and those eight people just might vote for someone else!

However, you should care about the caucus altogether: even though former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney just barely beat former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum, it’s interesting that Santorum was at the bottom of opinion polls just a few weeks ago. Oh, and his campaign may not be backed by as much funding as Romney’s is, and yet he managed second place in the closest caucus in history. Even though Tuesday night was like a “test run” of what’s to come at the national convention later this year, there’s still much to learn from it. It’s the same reason why sports teams play preseason games and why students the PSATs in high school: they literally don’t mean anything, and yet there is so much be said about those supposedly negligible games and tests!

If you’re voting Republican, Tuesday night brought the first glimpse of who might earn your support at the voting booths (note: it’s no longer Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann, who dropped out after placing sixth at the caucus).

If you consider yourself a Democrat, then you saw who Barack Obama might be up against in November (not that you could clearly tell from those results or anything).

And if you have yet to decide where you stand politically or who to lend your support to, this is the year to do so. Four years ago, America voted the first African-American president into the White House, and this year has already seen the closest caucus in history. Sure, you don’t have to watch every single primary event or fly out to support in person, but if you’re one of the many who are unhappy with the state of this country, then cast your ballot carefully. Even if you think your vote won’t count, or that the entire democratic system of voting really doesn’t matter, or that politicians always go back on their word once elected into office, I still think that we should try.

Maybe I’m just super naive because this will be the first presidential election I can vote in (I missed the last one by being one month too young), maybe I’m just getting too excited from too many media headlines that I just had to write my own for College Candy. Either way, I’m voting this year, and since it’ll be my first time, I’m not just gonna give it away to anybody!

Ashley is a UC San Diego grad who is holding on way too tightly to a potential career in magazines and goes to Vegas all too often. She’s fascinated with celebrities and strawberry beer and doubles as a pathological texter/emailer/blogger. Feed the addiction with tweets @cashleelee. Thanks in advance.

Senate Republicans blocked President Obama’s hu-mun-go jobs plan when it went up for vote in Congress this week. The $447 billion bill included a number of incentives and policies that Obama said would increase job growth, support small, struggling businesses and ultimately bolster the still-faltering economy. Fortunately or not, enough of Congress didn’t agree. Only 51 Democrats of the 60 needed signed on to a filibuster that would force the bill back into discussion. Some political strategists say Obama never expected the thing to pass, especially considering the GOP majority in the House, he just wanted Republicans to go on the record against it. Hmmm…tricky, tricky.

The man responsible for the yearlong hacking of over 50 celebrities’ private accounts, known as “Operation Hackerazzi,” was arrested this week. Christopher Chaney, a 35-year-old man from Florida, was perhaps most famous for stealing and leaking nude photos of Scarlett Johansson, which in turn caused the trend of “#ScarlettJohanssoning” (google it…). Chaney acted alone, and claimed his scheme “started as curiosity and it turned to just being addictive.” Other possible victims (nobody is quite sure yet) include Mila Kunis, Christina Aguilera, Ali Larter, Miley Cyrus, Natalie Portman and Vanessa Hudgens. This is only one of the many reasons I am thankful I’m not famous. How did he do it? He simply guessed their e-mail passwords by researching their lives. Chaney could face up to 121 years in prison.

A deal to release Gilad Shalit, an Israeli soldier being held by the militant Islamist group Hamas, was reached five years after his 2006 capture. Staff Sgt. Shalit, who has become a famous face across the world, will return home in exchange for 1,000 Palestinians from Israeli prisons. A number of Israelis are unhappy about the deal, though, because of the criminals it could potentially reintroduce into society. According to the leader of Hamas, which is commonly considered a terrorist organization, 315 of those freed would have served life sentences if not for the deal. On Sunday, three families of Israeli terror victims petitioned the Israeli Supreme Court because they are “afraid the terror will again rule the streets — that they will murder us again in restaurants, in cafes, at night in bed, at kindergartens and in schools,” sad Meir Schijveschuurder, who lost her family in a 2001 restaurant bombing.

Pic o’ the week:

Thank goodness Barbie doesn’t have a strict Mom, otherwise she would be in a lot of trouble. Mattel has unveiled its newest version of the 50-year old doll, which features permanent tattoos on the neck, chest and arm. This has caused some controversy… But really, don’t most Barbies have messy, sharpie-drawn tattoos within the first few weeks anyways?

The debt deadline looms, and everyone’s getting nervous. Congress and President Obama have until August 2nd to reach a deal to raise the U.S. debt limit. If they don’t, America’s bank accounts will effectively be completely drained, meaning some of the nation’s bills just won’t get paid, including, quite possibly, Social Security checks to needy seniors. President Obama even went all stern Mama on Congress this week in a press conference, pushing for a quick agreement:  ”We might as well do it now. Pull off the Band-Aid…eat our peas.” Never one to miss an opportunity for publicity, USA Dry Pea & Lentil Council jumped on the comment, responding, ”We know that if tasty and nutritious meals featuring peas are served more frequently in the White House and in the cafeterias of both houses of Congress, it will contribute to a balanced diet, if not a balanced budget. Eating more lentils, couldn’t hurt either.” Uhhh… ok, then.

The U.S. Women’s soccer team made it to the World Cup finals, but lost to Japan yesterday in an extra time, penalty shoot out. We were so close! You still have to give props to the team, though, who captured the country’s attention in the past week. The ladies came from behind and beat Brazil in a stunning, 11th hour comeback last Sunday. More technically, it was a 122nd minute comeback- Abby Wambach made the latest goal in the tournament’s history. Later in the week, the ladies owned France in the semi-finals, earning the U.S. its first trip to the finals since 1999. So even though we lost to Japan, there’s still a lot to be proud of..]

Rupert Murdoch’s been hacking our cell phones. OK, maybe not our cell phones, we’re not quite important enough. But the man behind News Corp., the world’s second largest media conglomerate, has gotten in deeper and deeper trouble as more info has been released about the private phone lines his company’s been listening in on. Targets include former U.K. Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Hugh Grant, and, perhaps most atrociously, the families of 9/11 victims.  This week, the FBI launched an official investigation into the accusations, and the British newspaper in the middle of the scandal, News of the World, shut down after 168 years. Murdoch even took out a full page ad in Saturday’s U.K. papers saying “We are sorry”… hmmm sorry you did it, or sorry you got caught? Everyone’s covering this story- except, of course, Murdoch’s own FOX News.

The epic, final Harry Potter film stomped all over every box office record this opening weekend. The massive lines of gold-and-maroon bedecked, lightning-tattoed fans outside almost every theater on Thursday night might’ve been a clue. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 raked in a total of $467 million in ticket sales worldwide, beating the previous record of $394 million held by Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince.Which leads us to another issue… Warner Bros. will be dealing with a serious drop in income now that the movies are over with. The film debuted in 59 different countries, and “the phenomenal result is a true testament to the universal and timeless appeal of J.K. Rowling’s beloved book,” Warner Bros. president of international distribution Veronika Kwan-Rubinek said. “Whether in German, Russian, Spanish, Japanese or any other language, fans everywhere have embraced the finale.” Harry Potter clearly can’t be stopped- just ask Voldermort.

Pic o’ the Week

President Obama shook Army Sgt. First Class Leroy Arthur Petry of New Mexico’s prosthetic hand as he awarded him the Medal of Honor last Tuesday. Petry is only the second active duty soldier to receive the distinction for actions in Afghanistan and Iraq, and he certainly deserved it- when a live grenade was thrown at him and two friends in 2008, he quickly lunged for it, sacrificing his hand but saving himself and his buddies. At the ceremony, Pres. Obama said that “true heroes still exist, and they’re closer than you think.” We couldn’t agree more.

Photo credit: Charles Dharapak—AP

The Middle East, Iraq, Iran, Libya, Recession, Depression, Stimulus, Democrats, Republicans, Congress — sometimes the big issues in today’s world can make your head spin. There’s so much going on and it’s tough to keep up with all the details, but even though it’s hectic, the big issues can have a big impact on your life, your career, and your future. Lucky for you, I’ve taken the  top headlines and condensed them into easy-to-read tidbits with all the info you need to know. And trust me, this is the stuff you need to know.

Are you a fan or a critic of Obama? Were you counting on a new stimulus package this year? How do you feel about Congress’ decision over whether or not to keep troops in Iraq? What issues matter most to YOU?

The former leader of the Ivory Coast, Laurent Gbagbo, was arrested on Monday after months of refusing to concede power to the rightfully elected president, Alassane Ouattara. (Read more on that here.) Ever since the election back in November, the country has been in the throes of a violent standoff between supporters of Gbagbo and Ouattara. Unfortunately, though, the violence hasn’t ended; on Wednesday, it was reported that citizens are still going into hiding and fleeing the big cities. Killings continue, adding to the over 1,500 lives that have already been claimed.

In a speech on Wednesday, President Obama announced a plan to cut the federal budget deficit by $4 trillion over the next twelve years. Things have been tense lately as we get closer and closer to the $14.3 trillion legal limit on borrowing.  Obama’s plan includes increased taxes on the wealthy and cuts on military and domestic spending. He did not, however, agree to Republican proposals to cut back his recent health care initiative. During the speech, news cameras caught the vice president nodding off; it’s OK Joe, I think it’s kinda boring, too

The mayor of Washington, D.C., Vincent C. Gray, spent Monday night in jail. Was it partly a publicity stunt? Maybe. He and six D.C. Council members were arrested for protesting in front of and blocking a Senate building. They and a number of residents were rallying against budget provisions imposed on the city by the federal government. I found this pretty shocking, but apparently it happens relatively often- another rogue mayor was arrested in the mid-’90s over a similar issue. D.C.’s starting to look like an even more fun place than I thought!

The Federal Aviation Administration’s Chief Air Traffic Controller resigned after multiple incidents of controllers falling asleep on the job. If there’s a job where its important to stay alert, air traffic control would be it, though I imagine I would get pretty sleeping watching planes fly by into the wee hours of the night. Thankfully, none of these incidents caused accidents, and the passengers remained blissfully unaware as their pilots landed without proper assistance. On one occasion, a landing pilot even got other local controllers to call the dozing guy through something called the “shout line,” a PA system intended to wake up nodding-off workers.

And finally…this week, an English man found a Jelly Bean with soon-to-be-princess Katie Middleton’s face on it! And he’s planning on auctioning it off for 500 pounds! Judge for yourself:

The news event of the week: since last Tuesday, Egyptians unhappy with their authoritative government have taken to the streets in protest. Inspired by the week prior’s events in Tunisia, the protesters are calling for the resignation of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and the in-statement of a democratic government. So far, though, American politicians have remained pretty quiet on their stance on the week’s riots. A well-known Egyptian Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Mohamed ElBaradei, even said that the U.S. appears to be “lending support to a dictator,” which is, of course, never a good thing. On Friday, the Internet in Egypt went dark, a response to the key organizing role the web has played.

On Tuesday night, President Obama delivered his second State of the Union address. If you know three words from his speech, know these: win the future. He mostly discussed how to make the U.S. competitive again as we become less and less of the superpower we once were. For a more complete summary of and response to the speech, read this. The more notable thing about the night was the bi-partisan seating arrangement of the audience. Usually, Congress sits exactly divided: Republicans on one side, Democrats on the other. This year, they were all mixed up, with politicians scrambling for the choicest seats much like high schoolers in a lunchroom. The power pair of the night may have been John Kerry (D- MA) and John McCain (R- AZ), chummily sitting side-by-side. Oh, and there was some not-that-funny joke about salmon.

A suicide bomber set off a deadly blast at an airport in Moscow, killing 35 people and injuring more than 100. The explosion happened last Monday, and the details as to who the bomber was and what his motivations were are as of yet unclear, though there have been reports that he was linked to a terrorist camp in Pakistan. The incident has made many anxious about airport security (more so than they already were); apparently, the bomber walked right through deactivated metal detectors to enter the arrivals section of Russia’s busiest airport.

Rahm Emanuel was taken off, then put back on, the ballot for Chicago’s mayoral election. Emanuel, Obama’s former chief of staff, stepped down from his position at the White House in order to run for mayor in his hometown. He is famous for his dirty, dirty mouth; some choice quotes include referring to D.C. as “f**knutsville” (creative, at the very least) and saying of the Obama’s un house-trained dog, Bo, “I’m going to kill that f**king dog” (awww, poor puppy!). He was thrown off the ballot because he was not a Chicago resident while working in D.C., but the Illinois Supreme Court overturned that ruling on Thursday, deciding he did meet the rules of residency. Watch out, Chicago!

President Obama gave his second State of the Union address last night, and ooooo-weeee was it good. No matter how you feel about the man, it’s impossible to deny that his oratory skills are a huge part of what got him where he is today. In my opinion, last night’s speech didn’t disappoint. At the end of the night, I found myself singing I’m proud to be an American, where at least I know I’m free… under my breath as I washed my face and brushed my teeth.

If you didn’t catch it last night, it’s available here, and if you’ve got a free hour, I highly recommend watching it. If nothing else, it’s a great summary of everything going on in our country right now so you can get caught up on all the main points that will affect you moving forward.

But if you don’t have the time, here’s a summary of his main points:

Like almost every State of the Union, the president focused on the unity of the American people and the necessity for cooperation to solve future challenges.

“Those of us here tonight have had our differences over the last two years. The debates have been contentious… and that’s a good thing,” he said. But “Tucson reminded us that no matter who we are or where we come from, each of us is a part of something greater—something more consequential than party or political preference. We are part of the American family.”

The challenge “the American family” is facing is how to continue to be competitive in the globalized economy.  “We need to out-innovate, out-educate, and out-build the rest of the world,” the president argued.

How will we do this? By allocating government funds towards research and innovation (“What we can do—what America does better than anyone else- is spark the creativity and imagination of our people”), improving education through state-based initiatives, tackling the issue of immigration (“let’s stop expelling talented, responsible young people… who could be further enriching this nation”) and by rebuilding the nation’s infrastructure.

He laid out his plan to reduce the federal deficit by freezing annual domestic spending for the next five years and touched on the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. “This year…we [will] finish the job of bringing our troops out of Iraq. America’s commitment has been kept. The Iraq war is coming to an end,” he said.

Overall, Obama was pretty vague- he mentioned health care reform and the economy only fleetingly, two issues that are really on the forefront of the American consciousness. But, the State of the Union is always vague. Sure, he didn’t give details to Congress about what legislation and bills he expects to see in the next year, or how specifically to face the obstacles he described. But Congress isn’t the real audience for the speech, we are- the American people. What he needed to do was inspire us, make us proud of our country, and excite us about the future.

And he did.

“From the earliest days of our founding, America has been the story of ordinary people who dare to dream… The idea of America endures. Our destiny remains our choice. And tonight, more than two centuries later, it’s because of our people that our future is hopeful, our journey goes forward, and the state of our union is strong,” he concluded.

I’m proud to be an American, where at least I know I’m free… Uh oh… it’s stuck in my head again.

So tell me, what did you think of Obama’s speech? Did he answer your questions? Inspire you? Regain your trust? Share below.