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Monday, August 31, 2015

Hillary Clinton Campaign Song Contest: The Winner Is...

This has been an exciting summer in politics. Hillary has been travelling around the country, meeting with voters and showing why she's the best candidate to not only lead the Democratic ticket but also to lead this country--and she's still in the best position out of anybody to win the Democratic nomination! Speaking of winning, we've got a big announcement to make here on our Hillary In 2016 blog.

[More: Vote--Which GOP Candidate Will Drop Out First?]

It all started on June 1 when you had the chance to submit as many songs as you wanted for our unofficial Hillary Campaign Song contest. This began the process of choosing which song we Hillary supporters believe should be her official 2016 campaign song. In the latter half of the month, voting commenced with 41 songs in contention. First, you narrowed the field down to 20, then to 10 and then to five. Once August was upon us, the rapid-fire voting rounds began; each week in the month of August was a new round and one song from the Top 5 was eliminated each week. During the week of August 24, only two songs remained ("Brave" and "Roar") and voting opened one final time.

After three whole months, it is now time to announce the winning song. To quote Ryan Seacrest on American Idol, dim the lights, here we go...

The winner of our Hillary Campaign Song contest is...

"ROAR" BY KATY PERRY


Here are some stats on how "Roar" fared throughout the contest. When you all sent in song submissions, "Roar" was the second most submitted song, so already it was starting off on very strong footing. That continued during Round 1, receiving the most votes, with 40.9%. It stayed in first place during Round 2, but slipped to second place in Round 3 (this was the week "Fighters" dominated). "Roar" stayed in second in Top 5 Week (this was when "Run the World (Girls)" came in first). But it regained the top spot in Top 4 Week with 38.5%. During Top 3 Week, not only did it receive the most votes again, but it dominated over the other two songs with 61.1%. When only two songs remained, those who voted for the third-place finisher shifted their support, resulting in "Roar" running away with the win at 73.3%!

And since I have done this for every other song in the Top 5, here's some stats for the runner-up. In Round 1, "Brave" was tied for third place at 18.2%. It stayed in second during Round 2 but gained a bit more support to receive 25.5% of the votes. Unfortunately, that support plummeted in Round 3, and almost didn't make the cut. At the Top 5 and Top 4, its support was still somewhat sluggish. But during this rapid-fire voting, as more songs were cut, voters of those eliminated songs shifted their support, resulting in "Brave" landing in the Top 2 and becoming the runner-up. "Brave" was definitely the underdog all throughout the contest.

[More: Sign Up--Guest Blog/Guest Tweet]

Both "Roar" and "Brave" are fantastic songs--and I was excited to see them make it to the end!

Thank you to everyone who participated all throughout the summer, from submitting songs to voting in each round. I had a lot of fun doing this, and I think "Roar" is definitely a worthy choice! Keep in mind that I am not affiliated with Hillary Clinton or her campaign, so this contest was not being used to find an official campaign song. But as you can see, "Roar" is the top choice of Hillary supporters and we can't wait to see what song Hillary for America chooses.


You held me down, but I got up (hey)
Already brushing off the dust
You hear my voice, you hear that sound
Like thunder, gonna shake your ground
You held me down, but I got up
Get ready 'cause I've had enough
I see it all, I see it now

I got the eye of the tiger, a fighter
Dancing through the fire
'Cause I am the champion, and you're gonna hear me roar
Louder, louder than a lion
'Cause I am a champion, and you're gonna hear me roar!


Follow Me on Twitter: @HillaryIn2016 & @TheJeffDodge

Follow Me on Instagram: @HillaryIn2016 & @TheJeffDodge

Monday, August 24, 2015

Hillary Clinton Campaign Song Top 2: Vote for the Winner! [+ Giveaway]

Last week, President Bill Clinton celebrated his birthday, while here on this blog, we're celebrating a big milestone in our Hillary Campaign Song contest--it's time for the Final 2! After another round of rapid-fire voting, one more song was eliminated, leaving us with the Top 2: Sara Bareilles' "Brave" and Katy Perry's "Roar." Were these the songs you were hoping would make it to the finals?

[More: Hillary Campaign Song Contest--The Song in 3rd Place Is...]

And are you ready to vote for the final time? At the end of this week's round, we'll find out the winner, the one song that we want as Hillary Clinton's official 2016 campaign song.

Voting for Top 2 Week is open from Monday, August 24 at 12am PT to Saturday, August 29 at 11:59pm PT. (The voting period has been extended to six days since this is the final week.) Use the form below to vote. And feel free to share this blog post on all of your social media pages so that as many Hillary supporters as possible can participate. (Use the hashtag #HillaryCampaignSong.)

Scroll below the form for YouTube videos of the two songs and links to read the lyrics. Reading the lyrics can be useful in seeing if a song is fitting for a campaign--and for Hillary's campaign in particular. (If one of the videos or links doesn't work, please let me know so I can correct it.) Below each video are anonymous comments you sent in for why that song should be the campaign song.

[More: Vote--Which GOP Candidate Will Drop Out First?]

GIVEAWAY! During the first three weeks of August, there has been a giveaway attached to each round of voting. Now it's time for the final prize! Giveaway #4 is a combo pack courtesy of Psychedelic Tara's Groovy Gift Emporium on Etsy that includes a "Hillary Clinton 2016" sticker, an "Elect Hillary Clinton for President 2016" sticker, a "Hillary 2016" pinback and a blue "Hillary 2016" T-Shirt, which you can see photos of below. (Click here for their online store to see all the products they offer.) To enter for a chance to win this giant prize pack, use the form below to vote for a song and then type your e-mail address where it says "Enter Giveaway". Once this round is over, a winner will be randomly selected (and if you're on Twitter, I'll also follow you and give you a #FollowFriday Shoutout.) Note: This prize can only be shipped within the continental U.S.
I am not affiliated with Hillary Clinton or Hillary for America, so these polls and giveaways are not being used by the campaign to find an official song or to promote merchandise; this is just for us to show our support and have some fun along the way. But if anybody from the campaign wants to take these results into consideration, please do!




"Brave" (Sara Bareilles) [Click Here for Lyrics]
What You Said About "Brave":
"Hillary is Brave. She says what needs to be said. She is not afraid. She doesn't pander or cower."
"Hillary is brave and we are counting on her to be our voice in 2016."
"We need to say what needs to be said without fear or hesitation. We need to be brave to change America."


"Roar" (Katy Perry) [Click Here for Lyrics]
What You Said About "Roar":
"'Roar' because it's an empowering female song."
"From the FIRST time I heard 'Roar' I KNEW it would be the perfect song when she decided to run, and that opinion has not changed. ROAR, Hillary, ROAR!"
"I like 'You held me down but I got up'."


Follow Me on Twitter: @HillaryIn2016 & @TheJeffDodge

Follow Me on Instagram: @HillaryIn2016 & @TheJeffDodge

Saturday, August 22, 2015

Hillary Clinton Campaign Song Contest: The Song in 3rd Place Is...

The third round of rapid-fire voting for our Hillary Campaign Song contest has ended. You all had the chance to vote for one of the three remaining songs, and now it's time to announce which one is being eliminated in third place.

A reminder: the Top 3 songs were "Brave," "Roar" and "Run the World (Girls)."

[More: Vote--Which GOP Candidate Will Drop Out First?]

The song in third place is...Beyonce's "Run the World (Girls)."


To give some stats on how this song fared during its run in the competition, "Run the World (Girls)" didn't start off with a lot of support, ending up in a tie for last place in both Rounds 1 and 2. It started heading up in Round 3 with a third place tie. Then when weekly rapid-fire voting began, the song shot up to first place with 40% of the vote at the Top 5, went down to second place with 30.8% at the Top 4, then dropped enough during Top 3 Week to end up back in last place (probably because support starts shifting to certain songs as others are eliminated). But I have to say, it was a close one this past week. A handful more votes might have given it an edge over another song, so it just barely missed.

If you were supporting "Run the World (Girls)," I hope you'll take a look at the Final 2 songs ("Brave" and "Roar") and choose one of those to support when voting opens again.

[More: Sign Up--Guest Blog/Guest Tweet]

But before we wrap up this latest elimination, here are a couple of the comments you sent in for why you wanted "Run the World (Girls)" as the campaign song:

"It's our time to show the world women need equality. Women are powerful. Women make a positive change in America!!"

[Quoting the lyrics] "I worked my 9 to 5, better cut my check...Strong enough to bare the children and get back to business."

In conjunction with the Top 3 voting, you also had the chance to enter a giveaway to win a Hill Yes T-Shirt. As of this writing, I have randomly picked a winner and have notified that person. If you didn't win, don't worry--there will be a brand-new prize during the final week of voting.

Follow Me on Twitter: @HillaryIn2016 & @TheJeffDodge

Follow Me on Instagram: @HillaryIn2016 & @TheJeffDodge

Monday, August 17, 2015

Hillary Clinton Campaign Song Top 3: Vote for the Top 2! [+ Giveaway]

Hillary Clinton stole the show last week at the Iowa Democratic Wing Ding, while our Hillary Campaign Song contest continued along its path to narrow down the field one by one until there's a winner. After the second round of rapid-fire voting, one of the songs from the Top 4 was eliminated, leaving us with our Top 3: Sara Bareilles' "Brave," Katy Perry's "Roar" and Beyonce's "Run the World (Girls)."

[More: Hillary Campaign Song Contest--The Song in 4th Place Is...]

Now it's time to vote again! At the end of this week's round, we'll find out which are the final two songs in the running.

Voting for Top 3 Week is open from Monday, August 17 at 10am PT to Saturday, August 22 at 10am PT. Use the form below to vote. And feel free to share this blog post on all of your social media pages so that as many Hillary supporters as possible can participate. (Use the hashtag #HillaryCampaignSong.)

Scroll below the form for YouTube videos of all three songs and links to read the lyrics. Reading the lyrics can be useful in seeing if a song is fitting for a campaign--and for Hillary's campaign in particular. (If one of the videos or links doesn't work, please let me know so I can correct it.) Below each video are anonymous comments you sent in for why that song should be the campaign song.

[More: Vote--Which GOP Candidate Will Drop Out First?]

GIVEAWAY! The past couple weeks, there has been a giveaway attached to each round of voting. Now it's time to introduce a new brand-new prize! Giveaway #3 is a black "Hill Yes" T-Shirt from HILL YES Co., which you can see a photo of below. (Click here for their online store to see all the products that they offer, and click here to follow them on Twitter.) All HILL YES products are made 100% in the USA. To enter for a chance to win, use the form below to vote for a song and then type your e-mail address where it says "Enter Giveaway". Once this round is over, a winner will be randomly selected (and if you're on Twitter, I'll also follow you and give you a #FollowFriday Shoutout).
I am not affiliated with Hillary Clinton or Hillary for America, so these polls and giveaways are not being used by the campaign to find an official song or to promote merchandise; this is just for us to show our support and have some fun along the way. But if anybody from the campaign wants to take these results into consideration, please do!




"Brave" (Sarah Bareilles) [Click Here for Lyrics]
What You Said About "Brave": "We need to say what needs to be said without fear of hesitation. We need to be brave to change America."


"Roar" (Katy Perry) [Click Here for Lyrics]
What You Said About "Roar": "I like [the part in the lyrics] 'You held me down but I got up'."


"Run the World (Girls)" (Beyonce) [Click Here for Lyrics]
What You Said About "Run the World (Girls)": "It's our time to show the world women need equality. Women are powerful. Women make a positive change in America!"


Follow Me on Twitter: @HillaryIn2016 & @TheJeffDodge

Follow Me on Instagram: @HillaryIn2016 & @TheJeffDodge

Saturday, August 15, 2015

Hillary Clinton Campaign Song Contest: The Song in 4th Place Is...

The second round of rapid-fire voting for our Hillary Campaign Song contest has ended. With only four songs in the running, things are starting to tighten up and you all had another chance to vote for one of them. It's time to announce which one is being eliminated in fourth place.

A reminder: the Top 4 songs were: "Brave," "Roar," "Run the World (Girls)" and "Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)."

[More: Vote--Which GOP Candidate Will Drop Out First?]

I said last week that with so few songs left, it's getting harder to see any be eliminated. That feeling was only heightened this week.

The song in fourth place is...Kelly Clarkson's "Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)."


To give you some stats on how this song fared throughout its run in the competition, "Stronger" started off very strong (pardon the pun!) in the first voting round by ending up in second place with 29.5%, and it stayed in second for the next round. But then as other songs started to gain strength, "Stronger" slipped to a third place tie at 12.2%. It garnered a higher percentage of votes, with 16%, during Top 5 Week, but stayed in third place. But this past week, another song gained some strength, enough to make "Stronger" drop to fourth (and, as a result, last) place.

I'll be honest, even though fourth place is a great position considering there were 41 songs to start with, I'm disappointed that "Stronger" has been eliminated. (I'm a huge Kelly Clarkson fan, so I'm definitely biased.) After seeing the strong second place showings in the first two rounds, I was expecting and hoping it would make it to the finals and be the runner-up at the very least--or even third place. But as the weeks went on, it started losing support and these past couple weeks I was starting to see the writing on the wall.

If you were supporting "Stronger," I hope you'll take a look at the three remaining songs ("Brave," "Roar" and "Run the World (Girls)") and choose another one to support when voting opens again.

[More: Sign Up--Guest Blog/Guest Tweet]

But before we wrap up this second elimination from the Top 5, here are some of the comments you sent in for why you wanted "Stronger" as the campaign song:

"What doesn't kill you makes you stronger is relatable to everyone, especially women and Hillary exemplifies Pure Strength in the face of vicious attacks from all sides, from every angle, at any opportunity simply for daring to challenge the status quo!"

"Given the years Hillary has fought for so many things and has been strong enough to withstand the GOP basing...always survived what was thrown at her...this music is inspirational even without the lyric!...It's also a song that many communities will embrace."

"'Stronger' sums up Hillary's life as a fighter."

[Referring to Hillary] "You're only going to get stronger and so is our country with you in charge."

In conjunction with the Top 4 voting, you also had the chance to enter a giveaway to win a set of Hillary/Beyonce 2016 stickers. As of this writing, I have randomly picked a winner and have notified that person. If you didn't win, don't worry--there will be a brand-new prize during Top 3 voting.

Follow Me on Twitter: @HillaryIn2016 & @TheJeffDodge

Follow Me on Instagram: @HillaryIn2016 & @TheJeffDodge

Monday, August 10, 2015

Hillary Clinton Campaign Song Top 4: Vote for the Top 3! [+ Giveaway]

Last week, all eyes were on the first Republican Presidential Primary debate. But here on this blog, the focus was on continuing our Hillary Campaign Song contest, introducing the rapid-fire voting round and adding a giveaway into the mix.

After five days of voting, one song from the Top 5 was eliminated, leaving us with the Top 4: Sara Bareilles' "Brave," Katy Perry's "Roar," Beyonce's "Run the World (Girls)" and Kelly Clarkson's "Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)."

[More: Hillary Campaign Song Contest--The Song in 5th Place Is...]

Now it's time to vote again. At the end of this week's round, one more song will be eliminated.

Voting for Top 4 Week is open from Monday, August 10 at 10am PT to Saturday, August 15 at 10am PT. Use the form below to vote. And feel free to share this blog post on all of your social media pages so that as many Hillary supporters as possible can participate. (Use the hashtag #HillaryCampaignSong.)

Scroll below the form for YouTube videos of all the songs and links to read the lyrics. Reading the lyrics can be useful in seeing if a song is fitting for a campaign--and for Hillary's campaign in particular. (If one of the videos or links doesn't work, please let me know so I can correct it.) Below each video are anonymous comments you sent in for why that song should be the campaign song.

[More: Sign Up--Guest Blog/Guest Tweet]

GIVEAWAY! Last week was our first giveaway as part of the Hillary Campaign Song contest. If you didn't win that prize, don't worry because we're giving away another one! Giveaway #2 is another set of three Hillary/Beyonce 2016 stickers, which you can see a photo of below. (Click here to visit their online store and click here to follow on Twitter.) To enter for a chance to win, use the form below to vote for a song and then type your e-mail address where it says "Enter Giveaway". Once this round is over, a winner will be randomly selected (and if you're on Twitter, I'll also follow you and give you a #FollowFriday Shoutout).


I am not affiliated with Hillary Clinton or Hillary for America, so these polls and giveaways are not being used by the campaign to find an official song or to promote merchandise; this is just for us to show our support and have some fun along the way. But if anybody from the campaign wants to take these results into consideration, please do!



"Brave" (Sarah Bareilles) [Click Here for Lyrics]
What You Said About "Brave": "Hillary is brave and we are counting on her to be our voice in 2016."


"Roar" (Katy Perry) [Click Here for Lyrics]
What You Said About "Roar": "'Roar' because it's an empowering female song."


"Run the World (Girls)" (Beyonce) [Click here for Lyrics]
What You Said About "Run the World (Girls)": [Quoting the lyrics] "I worked my 9 to 5, better cut my check...Strong enough to bare the children and get back to business."


"Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)" (Kelly Clarkson) [Click Here for Lyrics]
What You Said About "Stronger": "'Stronger' sums up Hillary's life as a fighter."


Follow Me on Twitter: @HillaryIn2016 & @TheJeffDodge

Follow Me on Instagram: @HillaryIn2016 & @TheJeffDodge

Saturday, August 8, 2015

Hillary Clinton Campaign Song Contest: The Song in 5th Place Is...

This past week began the first round of our rapid-fire voting for the Hillary Campaign Song contest. There were only five songs left in the running, and you all had the chance to vote on one of them. You delivered and now it's time to announce which one is being eliminated in fifth place.

A reminder: the Top 5 songs were: "Brave," "Fighters," "Roar," "Run the World (Girls)" and "Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)."

[More: Sign Up--Guest Blog/Guest Tweet]

At this point in the contest, it's hard to see a song get cut because all five of these songs are fantastic. But only four can move on.

The song in fifth place is...Kris Allen's "Fighters."


To give you some stats, this song did fluctuate in terms of how many votes it got every time. During the first round of voting, "Fighters" was in a five-way tie for third place. Not bad. Its percentage didn't go down all that much in the second round, but in terms of placement, it tumbled to an eighth place tie. Then miraculously, there was massive support in Round 3. But once things switched over to rapid-fire voting and you could only vote for one song, support fell again.

I'm glad that "Fighters" made it into the Top 5 because it's a great song. I've listened to it multiple times since this contest started and it really is a fitting song for a political campaign. It's on Hillary's Spotify playlist and has played after many of her campaign events/speeches, so Hillary for America definitely likes this song as well.

[More: Find Out the Democratic Primary Debate Schedule]

If you were siding with "Fighters," I hope you'll take a look at the four remaining songs ("Brave," "Roar," "Run the World (Girls)" and "Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)") and choose another one to support when voting opens again.

But before we wrap up this first elimination from the Top 5, here are some of the comments you sent in for why you wanted "Fighters" as the campaign song:

"Born to be a fighter, [Hillary]'s strong and [a] survivor."

"I think FIGHTERS sends a message of hope and spirit."

"'Fighters' is an amazing inspirational song. It's a good representation of the type of leadership that we need now in America to get back up because we were born to be fighters."

"Kris Allen's Fighter pumps my blood and gives me hope that we can really do it!"

"Fighters by Kris Allen is so appropriate because it shows that no matter what happens to people, they can get up and start fighting for what they believe. So true of Americans!"

"Hillary can 'fight' for Americans that have trouble 'fighting' for themselves!! She will 'fight' to make our voices heard!! Kris Allen's song 'Fighters' is made to represent so many aspects of our lives!"

"As soon as I heard the song 'Fighters' by Kris Allen at the end of Hillary Clinton's campaign announcement I knew it exemplified what her candidacy is all about. We are all 'born to be fighters' and her campaign is 'fighting for lives'."

"Kris Allen's Fighters has an inspiring message to never give up. Perfect for #Hillary2016 campaign and for all Americans!"

For those who sent in comments, I really loved reading all of them because it showed how passionate you are for this song.

In conjunction with the Top 5 voting, you also had the chance to enter a giveaway to win a set of Hillary/Beyonce 2016 stickers. As of this writing, I have randomly picked a winner and have notified that person. If you didn't win, don't worry--we're giving away another set of these stickers during Top 4 voting.

Follow Me on Twitter: @HillaryIn2016 & @TheJeffDodge

Follow Me on Instagram: @HillaryIn2016 & @TheJeffDodge

Monday, August 3, 2015

Hillary Clinton Campaign Song Top 5: Vote for the Top 4! [+ Giveaway]

A lot has happened during the past couple months in the world of presidential election politics. And a lot has happened right here on this blog. Two months ago, we began this contest, with everyone submitting songs, and in the weeks, since you have been voting for your favorites that you believe should be Hillary Clinton's 2016 campaign song. What started with 41 songs has now been narrowed down to just five.

If you missed the reveals on Twitter last week, here are the Top 5 songs you advanced to this next round: Sara Bareilles' "Brave," Kris Allen's "Fighters," Katy Perry's "Roar," Beyonce's "Run the World (Girls)" and Kelly Clarkson's "Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)." This means that the five eliminated songs from the previous round are: "American Girl," "Don't Stop Believin'," "Girl on Fire," "Respect" and "Woman in the White House."

So here's what's going to happen now. Each of the first three rounds lasted a week, and half of the songs were eliminated each time. You were also able to vote for as many songs as you wanted. But with five songs left, it's time to focus more on what the winning song will be. This means there will be no off weeks between each voting period; rather, there will be a new round of rapid-fire voting every week in the month of August to find out which song is in fifth place, fourth place, etc. until we're left with just one. Also, with so few songs remaining, you can only choose one song in each round instead of open-ended voting like before.

[More: Sign Up--Guest Blog/Guest Tweet]

Voting for Top 5 Week is open from Monday, August 3 at 10am PT to Saturday, August 8 at 10am PT. Use the form below to vote. And feel free to share this blog post on all of your social media pages so that as many Hillary supporters as possible can participate. (Use the hashtag #HillaryCampaignSong.)

Scroll below the form for YouTube videos of all the songs and links to read the lyrics. Reading the lyrics can be useful in seeing if a song is fitting for a campaign--and for Hillary's campaign in particular. (If one of the videos or links doesn't work, please let me know so I can correct it.) Below each video are anonymous comments you sent in for why that song should be the campaign song.

GIVEAWAY! As I hinted at before, we are now introducing some giveaways that will be attached to every round of voting in August. Giveaway #1 is a set of three Hillary/Beyonce 2016 stickers!, which you can see a photo of below. (Click here to visit their online store and click here to follow on Twitter.) To enter for a chance to win, use the form below to vote for a song and then type your e-mail address where it says "Enter Giveaway". Once this round is over, a winner will be randomly selected (and if you're on Twitter, I'll also follow you and give you a #FollowFriday Shoutout). If you don't win this prize, don't worry--there will be three more opportunities.


I am not affiliated with Hillary Clinton or Hillary for America, so these polls and giveaways are not being used by the campaign to find an official song or to promote merchandise; this is just for us to show our support and have some fun along the way. But if anybody from the campaign wants to take these results into consideration, please do!



"Brave" (Sara Bareilles) [Click Here for Lyrics]
What You Said About "Brave": "Hillary is Brave. She says what needs to be said. She is not afraid. She doesn't pander or cower."


"Fighters" (Kris Allen) [Click Here for Lyrics]
What You Said About "Fighters": "'Fighters' is an amazing inspirational song. It's a good representation of the type of leadership that we need now in America to get back up because we were born to be fighters."


"Roar" (Katy Perry) [Click Here for Lyrics]
What You Said About "Roar": "From the FIRST time I heard ROAR I KNEW it would be the perfect song when she decided to run, and that opinion has not changed. ROAR, Hillary ROAR!"

"Run the World (Girls)" (Beyonce) [Click Here for Lyrics]
What You Said About "Run the World (Girls)": "It's our time to show the world women need equality. Women are powerful. Women make a positive change in America!!"

"Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)" (Kelly Clarkson) [Click Here for Lyrics]
What You Said About "Stronger": "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger is relatable to everyone, especially women and Hillary exemplifies Pure Strength in the face of vicious attacks from all sides, from every angle, at any opportunity simply for daring to challenge the status quo!"


Follow Me on Twitter: @HillaryIn2016 & @TheJeffDodge

Follow Me on Instagram: @HillaryIn2016 & @TheJeffDodge