“Livin’ on a Prayer,” “Shake It Off” and “Fast Car” are among the songs that some of the 2024 Republican presidential candidates say bring them “instant joy.”
About half of the 13 Republican candidates for the White House responded to a query published Wednesday by Politico Magazine about a viral social media post that asked users on to share.
“Not the ‘best’ songs that give you instant joy as soon as you hear the first note.” says the August post“those who give other people the best insight into what moves your soul.”
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie represented the Garden State strongly with his musical recommendations, choosing Bon Jovi’s “Livin’ on a Prayer” and Bruce Springsteen’s “Thunder Road.” Also on Christie’s list are: “I Saw Her Standing There” by the Beatles, “Pressure” by Billy Joel, “Castle on the Hill” by Ed Sheeran and the classic “Hotel California” by the Eagles.
Nikki Haley, the former governor of South Carolina, performed hits such as “I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll” by Joan Jett, “Jolene” by Dolly Parton, “Cruel Summer” by Bananarama, “We Got the Beat” by The Go- Go’s and Def Leppard’s “Pour Some Sugar on Me.” Haley also chose more recent chart-toppers like “Fast Car,” the Luke Combs cover of Tracy Chapman’s 1988 song, and Post Malone’s 2019 “Take What You Want,” featuring Ozzy Osbourne and Travis Scott.
Christie and Haley have at least one thing in common: They both chose “Mr. Adding “Brightside,” The Killers’ 2004 track, to their jam list.
Former Texas Congressman Will Hurd performed a mix of pop and rap songs, including Eazy-E’s “Boyz-n-the-Hood,” A Tribe Called Quest’s “Award Tour” featuring Trugoy the Dove and Taylor Swift’s hit “Shake” from 2014’s It Off,” Destiny’s Child’s “Survivor,” and Demi Lovato’s “Sorry Not Sorry.”
Vivek Ramaswamy, who rapped to Eminem’s “Lose Yourself” at the Iowa State Fair last month and was reportedly asked by his music licensor to stop using the “Eight Mile” star’s music on the campaign trail, recorded the 2002 song on his list. Also among the biotech entrepreneur’s eight tracks: “Thunder” by Imagine Dragons, “Centuries” by Fall Out Boy, Mozart’s “Rondo Alla Turca” and Aerosmith’s “Dream On”. Like Haley, Ramaswamy also chose Parton’s “Jolene.”
Other contestant favorites include Cornel West’s choice of Aretha Franklin’s “Respect” and Nina Simone’s “Mississippi Goddam”; Asa Hutchinson’s selection of “When I’m Sixty-Four” by the Beatles, “Friends in Low Places” by Garth Brooks and “Get the Party Started” by Pink; and Larry Elder’s favorites, including The Temptations’ “My Girl,” Simon and Garfunkel’s “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” and Boyz II Men’s “It’s So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday.”
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