LOS ANGELES (Top40 Charts/ Declare Yourself PR) - Having celebrated his 18th birthday on Sunday, February 3, one of the country's most popular young music artists, Sean Kingston, has created a new version of Alice Cooper's song, "I'm Eighteen." Sean recorded the song in Los Angeles for the national nonpartisan, nonprofit youth voting initiative, Declare Yourself, to encourage America's 18-year-olds to register and vote in the 2008 presidential primaries and general election.
"Turning 18 is a big deal," said Kingston, "not just for me but for every young person in this country. It means all of a sudden you can do a lot of things, and one of those things is voting. I hope if someone checks out this song, it will make them want to hear more, learn more or do more - whether they're 18 or 80."
Kingston's cover of "I'm Eighteen, which was originally written and recorded in 1971, made its world premiere today, appropriately, Super Tuesday, to encourage young people to vote in the presidential primaries. Sean's rendition of "I'm Eighteen" will be available for a limited time on the homepage of iTunes as a free download. It will also be prominently featured and streamed - along with exclusive additional content - on MySpace, the site that helped create some of the incredible success surrounding the young superstar.
At just over three minutes, Kingston's new version carries forward the song's signature guitar riff, with the young performer adding his own elements of rap, reggae, dancehall and psychedelic pop. In Kingston's hands, "I'm Eighteen" has been re-imagined as a contemporary reflection of the empowerment and confusion found in the song's lyrics. Not coincidentally, Kingston declares during the track, "I'm just a vote away!" harkening to both the Super Tuesday primaries on February 5 and the 2008 U.S. presidential election in November as well.
Discovered on the popular social networking site, MySpace, Sean Kingston, has become a force to be reckoned with since his debut, self-titled album launched on July 31, 2007 on Epic Records. Kingston continues to command the charts with his No 1 smash hit in 21 countries "Beautiful Girls," his second and third top ten singles "Me Love" and "Take You There." Additionally, Sean is featured on Natasha Bedingfield's latest hit "Love Like This."
This is only the beginning - Kingston recently wrapped up a national tour with Grammy-nominated Chris Brown, following a national tour with Gwen Stefani. Beginning in March, Sean will kick off an international tour performing throughout Europe, Australia and Asia through the end of spring.
Founded by Norman Lear, Declare Yourself features a powerful, multi-tiered platform aimed at engaging Americans 18-29 to vote, including media partnerships, celebrity spokespeople, the sports arena, and most importantly mobile and Internet technology. Declare Yourself's campaign blankets the landscape of popular culture, as well as universities and high schools, with a simple, clear message: REGISTER AND VOTE! "We couldn't be more pleased that Sean Kingston, one of the hottest young talents today, is choosing to register to vote through Declare Yourself and serving as a model to young people across the country," said Norman Lear.
In addition to its partnerships with MySpace and iTunes, Declare Yourself is enlisting an unprecedented array of partners for the 2008 election, including Cricket Wireless, Yahoo!, Google, Clear Channel, Comedy Central, Spike TV, American Eagle Outfitters, Harper Collins, Starbucks and Voto Latino. Easy registration is available through https://www.DeclareYourself.com or by texting VOTE to 55355 on your mobile phone.
