Barack Obama just proved he's a country music fan who's willing to work for it. The 44th president of the United States named three country-friendly songs to his list of his favorite songs of 2018. None of them earned much mainstream attention, but that's the least curious thing about his selections.

However, that could change. Obama's inclusion of Ashley McBryde's "Girl Goin' Nowhere" (the title track of her Grammy-nominated album) is great promotion for a moving ballad the singer just released to country radio. Taste of Country also trumpeted the importance of the song, naming it No. 4 on our 18 Best Songs of 2018 list. Her live performance of this song is something all fans of music need to experience in 2019.

Who Is Ashley McBryde Anyways? 

Brandi Carlile's "Every Time I Hear That Song" helped her By the Way, I Forgive You album earn multiple Grammy nominations. Anderson East's "King for a Day" is a wise and soulful love song that leads off his critically acclaimed Encore album from 2018. Did you know Chris Stapleton and his wife Morgane helped him write the horn-filled tune?

The president's list of songs is pretty diverse, although he includes mostly mainstream genres like hip-hop, pop, rock and country. There are no EDM or polka hits on the list of 22 songs he shared on Facebook (along with his favorite movies and books). Long story short, we're not surprised that he included country or even that he even listens to country, alt-country, Americana and all the sub-genres. He's a worldly dude.

But where is he finding the time to drill deep into these alt-country albums? At least one ToC writer would donate a week's pay to charity to get a look at his personal Spotify history, but for now, let's just ask the rest of these questions Dwight Schrute style:

Question: Who is informing Obama's musical diet? And from there, who introduced him to a 30-something singer-songwriter from Mammoth Springs, Ark.?

Question: Has he ever seen McBryde or any of these country artists live?

Question: If he watched her sing "Girl Goin' Nowhere" live, did he cry like most people?

Question: Does he relate? Where there people in his early life who held him back, and does he carry a chip on his shoulder still to this day?

Question: What great love song still wrecks him in the way Carlile sings about during "Every Time I Hear That Song"?

Question: Does Michelle know?

Question: Are Barry and this girl friends on Facebook?

Question: So, if he's a fan of Anderson East, how much did he keep tabs on his love affair with Miranda Lambert that ended when she (reportedly) started dating Evan Felker, who had reportedly ditched his own wife for Lambert?

Question: Does President Obama sneak a peek at the tabloids?

AHHHHH!!!

We could go on for literally minutes. What does the president think of the women in country music issue? Does he have a favorite Top 40 country artist? If he tells us he's an Eric Church fan, we'll write him in in 2020.

It's possible that Obama or his people may discover this list of #SeriousJournalist inquiries, and should he want to answer a few, he can slide into our DMs at @tasteofCountry on Twitter and Instagram or email us at staff@tasteofcountry.com. Crazier things have happened, right?

18 Best Country Songs of 2018: 

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