Obama Pops In To Visit TwinsTheNewTrend

Perhaps no YouTube channel has been as successful at being a source of wholesome joy in 2020 than TwinsTheNewTrend, which grew popular when twin brothers Tim and Fred Williams began listening to classic rock and pop songs they'd never heard before. Yesterday, the channel capped off its wildly successful 2020 by scoring a conversation with former President Barack Obama, who himself has had a busy week online as Twitter has memed both his romantic misfortunes and music taste.

The video is a wholesome bit of paid promotion for BookTube, YouTube's series on notable books, by going through Obama's dropped playlist of "memorable songs from his administration," which featured Bob Dylan's "The Times They Are A-changin'." The twins take a listen to the song, which they claim to have never heard before, before Obama pops in on a video call to chat with the boys.

The conversation was evidently a complete surprise, as the brothers thought they were simply filming sponsored content for Booktube before Obama jumped in. “He just popped out of nowhere,” Fred told People Magazine right after their Tuesday meeting. “That’s the cherry on top.”

The brothers and Obama shared some mutual admiration for each other over the course of the video. The brothers were naturally thrilled to be talking to Obama, who was President for most of their adult lives, but Obama noted that he truly believed in the content of their channel.

“The country's so divided right now and on the internet a lot of times everybody's just mad," Obama said. "What you guys are doing -- which is being open to new ideas, new experiences and reaching out to different traditions -- that's America at its best. And I think you guys sending that message is powerful."

TwinsTheNewTrend broke through in July of this year after a video of them watching Phil Collins' "In The Air Tonight" went viral on social media. Their success has earned them shoutouts from celebrities including Alicia Keys, Dolly Parton, Blake Shelton and Kerry Washington. They've moved out of Gary, Indiana, where they first began filming their show, and have since moved to Indianapolis, where there is more opportunity for them.

The brothers' BookTube episode will air on December 16th and feature more of their conversation with Obama.