Obama Victory Songs and Celebrity Tears

Just since Tuesday, several rappers have added to the growing list of Obama rap songs and released brand new tracks or remixed their old ones in celebration of his victory. There are surely many more where these came from:

• "Election Night" by Nas: Touring in Norway during Election Day, first time voter was so excited that he sat down to record this song early Tuesday morning and had it sent off to MTV by the afternoon.

• "History" by Jay-Z: The seriously-committed Obama supporter gave a sneak listen of his new track, about victory and defeat, on Hot 97 yesterday.

• "It's A New Day" by Will.i.am: The Black Eyed Pea is perpetually inspired by Barack Obama. The new song, which follows in the footsteps of his "Yes We Can" tribute, was supposed to debut on his Web site yesterday, but it's no where to be found. Even without listening to it, one can assume that it's really, really sappy.

• "Changes" by Common: All he wants to do is inspire hope and change just like his fellow Chicagoan…

• "Pop Champagne For Barack" by Ron Browz, feat. Busta Rhymes: Let's let the lyrics speak for themselves. "We pop champagne for Barack's campaign/ We voted for a change, now we made it/ No disrespect to McCain or Palin… To all my people in the street that always bang this in their truck/ We celebrating this Barack win/ Put your hands up"

The Barack Obama afterglow continues in the hip-hop community. Don't think rappers are going to stop supporting the president-elect just because the election is over. Wednesday night in New York, Diddy, Jay-Z, Mary J. Blige and Keyshia Cole sang Obama's praises while at a victory party/ Diddy birthday bash at the Mansion nightclub.

Yorke wrote on the website: "In celebration of November 5, Jonny's [Greenwood, guitarist] birthday amid bonfire and fireworks in the UK and the dawn of a new era in politics in the USA, I humbly donate a remix of 'Harrowdown Hill' that was finished ages ago during the band webcasts, a small reminder of the dark days of Bush's."

Will Smith was on Oprah yesterday and he joked around about how he started crying and just “lost it” when he learned that Barack Obama was elected the 44th President. He said all his children were around him when they heard the announcement and listened to Obama’s moving acceptance speech. Smith got a little teary-eyed on the show, but then tried to play it off by pretending he was sobbing and getting down on the ground and pounding the floor.

George Clooney said in a statement: "I congratulate President-elect Obama on his historic victory, and now it's time to begin unifying the country so we can take on the extraordinary challenges that this generation faces." Actress Scarlett Johansson, who stumped for Obama throughout his campaign, said the "overwhelming hope that Obama inspires is infectious." "I've always maintained a strong faith in the power of Obama's positive campaign and am so proud of every citizen who took a stand, participated in the political process and insisted their voices be heard," Johansson said in a statement. Reacting on her Myspace page, Lindsay Lohan gushed, "OBAMA IS OUR PRESIDENT!" and said that everyone who voted, "no matter their choice ... should be proud for voting in the first place." Kanye West, whose mother Donda died last November, posted a portrait of the president elect on his blog with the message: "HI MOM, OBAMA WON!" Meanwhile, director-provocateur Michael Moore responded on his Web site, saying, "Who among us is not at a loss for words? Tears pour out. Tears of joy. Tears of relief. A stunning, whopping landslide of hope in a time of deep despair."