Sheryl Crow, Heart, Michael Bolton, John Mellencamp, Cyndi Lauper and Imagine Dragons' Dan Reynolds also contribute to the anti-campaign ballad on 'Last Week Tonight with John Oliver'.
- Jul 26, 2016
AceShowbiz - John Oliver gathered a bunch of famous musicians for an anti-campaign ballad called "Don't Use Our Song". The music video, shared on Sunday, July 24's episode of "Last Week Tonight with John Oliver", featured Usher, Josh Groban, Sheryl Crow, Heart, Michael Bolton, John Mellencamp, Cyndi Lauper and Imagine Dragons' Dan Reynolds.
"The point here is, if artists want to lend their music to politicians that's fine. But it is not okay for politicians to just take their songs," John said, while discussing the political misuse of pop songs including Donald Trump's unauthorized use of a Queen song.
"Stop using our music that's on our one and only rule/ We didn't write these songs to make your campaign stops look cool," the group led by Usher sings in the video, "Don't use our song because it used it wrong/ It might seem appealing but you're just stealing/ Don't just use our song it just seems wrong/ By the time this tune is through you'll be lucky if we don't sue." The group notes, "Just to be clearer/ You can't use this song either."
"That's licensing. You gotta call my publisher, OK?" Usher declares. Josh also takes on the licensing issue, crooning, "If I wanted to sing and not get paid, I'd be on Spotify."