It's not unusual for political campaigns to utilize music to help build enthusiasm among their supporters. However, it is still somewhat unusual for major recording artists to insert themselves into a campaign with musical projects designed specifically to be part of the campaign. However, today, if a star feels so moved, the Internet allows a project to be distributed and touch millions of listeners and viewers within days.

Last Friday, February 1, 2008, will.i.am released a music video derived from Barack Obama's speech delivered after the New Hampshire primary election January 8, 2008. The video weaves Obama's words into a musical setting titled "Yes We Can" and features almost 40 celebrities donating their familiar images and talents. Among those featured are John Legend, Nicole Scherzinger, Herbie Hancock, Scarlett Johansson, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. The video was directed by Jesse Dylan, son of Bob Dylan.

will.i.am states his reason's for putting together the project very simply:

"I came up with the idea to turn his speech into a song...
because that speech affected and touched my inner core like nothing in a very long time...

It's unclear what impact the video will have on the race, but as of this morning, "Yes We Can" had been viewed a total of over 4 million times on YouTube in its multiple postings and the song's web site claims more than 10 million views.

Watch "Yes We Can."

_{Photo by MJ Kim / Getty Images}