Fall Out Boy spent inauguration day scaling trees and performing alongside Kanye West and Kid Rock at President Obama's Youth Ball, but out of 24 very hectic hours, there are three minutes that definitely stand out from the rest: when they got to meet Obama himself.
Even if they don't exactly remember how the whole thing went down.
"We literally found out we were going to meet him, like, a couple [of minutes beforehand]," FOB frontman Patrick Stump laughed. "A lady walks into the room and was like, 'We're leaving right now. ... You're meeting the president. It was like we had no time to prepare, no time to anything. ... You just walk up, and they were like, 'You gotta go now,' and they shove us against the wall and then in comes the president. It was amazing."
It sounds slightly terrifying, but the guys in FOB said it was probably the highlight of their career. After all, it's not every day you get to shake hands with the most powerful man in the world, who turns out to be a pretty nice guy.
See FOB recall their experience of meeting President Barack Obama after the jump! Read more...
By Jayson Rodriguez, with reporting by Sway J. Calloway
Jay-Z is a self-made man, and he recognizes that President Barack Obama is one too.
Back in the day, Hov was told he couldn't get a recording contract, so he started his own record company to sign himself. Similarly, Obama was told he needed more seasoning before trying his hand at the presidency.
But during a sit-down with MTV News before Jay's concert in Washington, D.C., on Monday night, Jay said he realized Obama's mettle regarding the matter during a conversation they had.
"I think the most important thing [Obama] said to me — 'cause everyone's wondering — it seemed like the dream ticket for him to run for vice president until he got some experience under his belt and then go for president," Jay said.
Read more...
By Jocelyn Vena, with reporting by Shaheem Reid
Some people may not have had the audacity to steal the food of a man that would one day become the president of the United States of America, but that isn't the case for Usher. On this fateful occasion, the singer decided his hunger trumped Obama's, and he stole his candy bar.
"The first time we met, we actually were in transit in his car ... kind of rolling," he explained to MTV News. "And, I'm starving, 'cause I hadn't really ate."
What happens next is one for the history books. "We had been campaigning all day, all over the place, and I kind of look around and I'm like, 'Oooh, let me eat this candy bar or whatever,' " Usher remembered. "And we both look at it, and I'm like, 'You're not gonna eat that, are you?' and he's like, 'You're not gonna eat it, are you?' I'm like, 'Well, I'm gonna eat it if you don't.' "
Read more...
By Benjamin Wagner
A rock-and-roll street artist with an anti-establishment streak, healthy arrest record and penchant for subversive images might be the last person you'd expect to share a few words with the future president of the United States.
But times have changed, right?
There's a solid argument that Shepard Fairey's iconic Barack Obama portrait helped put the Illinois senator into the White House, a fact that the soon-to-be president seems to appreciate.
"I have met Barack Obama twice," Fairey said. "He was very, very genuine, very nice.
Read more...
Jayson Rodriguez, with reporting by Shaheem Reid
Usher is used to having people dying to meet him. But the Grammy Award-winning singer can cop to having the tables turned when it came to meeting Barack Obama. The two crossed paths when the president-elect was running to become the junior U.S. senator from Illinois.
"The first time we met was in 2004, and what made me want to stand behind Barack Obama is that he was always a man of his word," Usher told MTV News on Sunday after the "We Are One" concert in Washington, D.C., where he performed with Steve Wonder. "He said, 'Anything I can do to support you, I'll do so.' He really cared about being a voice for the youth. We sat down to discuss some of the issues we were dealing with in America. And when we came back together [during his run for the Democratic nomination], I asked, 'Well, what can I do to make you our president?' And he said, 'I think the youth need to know more about the voting process.' "
Read more...
Wilmer Valderrama is rarely at a loss for words, but the former "That '70s Show" star sometimes has a hard time figuring out how to illustrate what it is about President-elect Barack Obama that is so moving to him.
"It's hard to describe a man of his stature," Valderrama said Sunday night on the red carpet of the Voto Latino Inaugural Ball at Union Station. "It's hard to describe someone that has such direction. One of the things I can say is that he has a point of view.
"I had the pleasure of meeting him in Los Angeles," he explained. "There was a small meeting [Voto Latino] had over there, figuring out moving forward how we were going to influence his campaign the most. He's very contagious. He really understands how to communicate a change. I'm just thrilled and excited and proud that this day came. For my little brother, too. I have an 8-year-old brother who is waking up every day to a president it would normally be a dream to even think about. It's basically letting him know that we can dream again." Read more...
By Jayson Rodriguez
Barack Obama wants to limit the influence that lobbyists have in Washington, D.C., but it seems that some celebrities in Los Angeles haven't gotten that memo just yet.
Will Smith is making it known that he'd like to play the president-elect in a movie one day. And now Nick Cannon is putting the pressure on Obama ... to become the official White House DJ.
"I know what you like, Barack," Cannon said, addressing the president via the MTV News cameras at the Sundance Film Festival. "I've rocked with you. I've DJed before, so I'm trying to get that role. We just need to get in there and set it all off."
Jokes aside, Cannon explained that he's been a fan of the Chicago politician since the electrifying speech Obama delivered at the Democratic National Convention in 2004. Read more...
Wyclef Jean has never been shy to tell the world about his devotion to Barack Obama. He says he's been an "Obama groupie" from the very beginning. When MTV News caught up with the rapper, who was kicking off Obama's inauguration festivities at the Green Inaugural Ball Saturday night in Washington, D.C., he shared with us a little-known factoid about the president-elect: The admiration is mutual.
"Yes, I met Senator Obama, President Obama," said Wyclef, who did his share of stumping for Obama during the campaign, in performances, interviews and mixtapes. "I met him when he was a senator, at the Black Caucus." Read more...
