Janelle Monáe showed her support for the president at a recent campaign event in Chicago. The “Tightrope” singer performed and explained why she will be endorsing Barack Obama for a second term.

“I was deeply honored to be invited by the president to perform at the rally in Chicago at the University of Illinois,” said the 26-year-old Kansas native. “It was an amazing feeling to be amongst so many people, young and old, black, white, red, disabled, all united, eager to help support a man who has ended the war in Iraq, gotten rid of ‘don’t ask don’t tell’—allowing anyone to serve this country regardless of who you love—made sure women were not paid less than men merely because they are women, doubled pell grants, given 2.5 million young people health insurance, and has created a law that recognizes that crimes based on sexual orientation, gender identity, race, or disability aren’t just any crime—they’re hate crimes that deserve justice.”

She continued, “These are all things he said he’d do before he was elected and did them. There are more important accomplishments that can be added to this list. I strongly believe our nation should continue upon this path, bringing justice to all and change where needed. President Obama remains the candidate of hope and change, and he will continue to move our country forward, bringing even more change if re-elected.”

The commander-in-chief returned the compliment. “I wanna thank Janelle Monáe for her wonderful performance,” he told attendees. “Her whole crew is here. We had them at the state dinner and the Korean president and his whole family, they were moving around. They loved it. So music is the universal language and Janelle and her team are incredibly talented.”

Photo credit: George 2.0