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Michelle Obama Made A Valentine's Day Playlist For Barack & It’ll Melt Your Heart

by Monica Hunter-Hart
Mark Wilson/Getty Images News/Getty Images

In case you needed any more evidence that the Obamas are a dream couple, Michelle Obama made a Valentine's Day playlist for Barack and posted it on Twitter on Wednesday. The list includes pop, R&B, hip hop, soul, jazz, and rock tunes and heavily features celebrity artists, from Beyoncé to Michael Jackson. It's 44 songs long — a reference to Barack, who was the 44th president of the United States. Is your heart melting yet?

"Happy #ValentinesDay to my one and only, @BarackObama," Michelle tweeted. "To celebrate the occasion, I'm dedicating a little Valentine's Day playlist to you!" She titled the mix "Forever Mine: Michelle to Barack" and also shared it on Instagram.

The playlist begins with its eponymous song, Andra Day's "Forever Mine," her feel-good hit from 2015. It moves through R&B and soul classics (Ben E. King's "Stand By Me," Barry White's "Can't Get Enough Of Your Love, Babe," and Marvin Gaye/Tammi Terrell's "If This World Were Mine"); '70s rock (Van Morrison's "Moondance," Rod Stewart's "Maggie May," and Elton John's "Your Song"); and '80s pop (Whitney Houston's "I Wanna Dance With Somebody," Michael Jackson's "I Just Can't Stop Loving You," and Cyndi Lauper's "Time After Time").

There are a variety of ballads, from Diana Ross' "Endless Love" to Adele's "Make You Feel My Love." There's hip hop (Common's "Come Close" and Kendrick's "LOVE") and modern R&B (Guordan Banks' "Keep You in Mind" and Leon Bridges' "Coming Home"). There are recent pop hits from the likes of Beyoncé ("Halo"), Alicia Keys ("Fallin'"), Janelle Monáe ("Primetime"), Bruno Mars ("Marry You"), and Ed Sheeran ("Shape of You"). The mix ends with John Legend's "All of Me," the tender song he wrote for his wife Chrissy Teigen in 2013.

The Obamas often mark celebratory occasions with playlists. Barack, for example, published one that he used for workouts, one that featured his favorite songs from 2017, and an annual summer-themed list. In his own words, he "started a tradition" of publicly sharing music during his presidency. He has described it as a "a nice way to reflect on the works that resonated with me and lift up ... artists from around the world."

Michelle did the same thing as first lady: She shared an "International Day of the Girl" list in 2015 and gave Rolling Stone her her own favorite workout songs in 2016.

The Obamas made their time in the White House a particularly musical one. They often hosted concerts, including the 2012 White House Blues Festival and a 2016 event that celebrated the end of Barack's presidency, "Love and Happiness: An Obama Celebration," put on by Black Entertainment Television. During Barack's tenure, we watched him cry to Aretha Franklin performing "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" and sing a duet with B.B. King. The Obamas have many musician friends, including Beyoncé and Jay-Z.

Michelle and Barack — who have been married for nearly 29 years — often share their affection publicly on Valentine's Day. They typically post adoring messages to each other on social media for the holiday, and in 2016, exchanged humorous love poems on The Ellen DeGeneres Show.

"Somebody call the Situation Room, because things are about to get hot," Barack joked. "Roses are red, violets are blue," said Michelle, "you are the president, and I am your boo."

President Trump and Melania may be having a chillier Valentine's Day in light of new developments in the high-profile Stormy Daniels scandal (Trump's lawyer paid Daniels $130,000 in 2016, possibly to have her keep quiet about her alleged affair with Donald). In fact, the first couple might be spending the day apart.