White House to annotate State of the Union with lyrics site Genius

The White House will be offering line-by-line commentary on President Obama’s final State of the Union address through an annotated version that will be released online shortly after delivery.

The White House will use an online annotation platform called Genius — most frequently used to break down the meaning of song lyrics — to “add a new layer of context and commentary” to this year’s remarks, the administration said Saturday.

{mosads}Officials have also used the website to revisit past State of the Union addresses, as a way to highlight Obama’s legacy as he enters his final year.

The project, which has been in the works from a dozen White House staffers, includes personal insights and anecdotes from Vice President Joe Biden as well as former head speechwriter Jon Favreau.

In one example, Favreau explains a joke about a regulation involving “spilled milk” that fell flat in Obama’s 2012 address.  

“I came up with the infamous spilled milk joke at 3am after not sleeping for weeks,” Favreau writes on Genius.

“This iconic usage comes after a number of political campaigns, public figures, and advocacy groups have recently used the Web Annotator to check facts, share insights, and build communities,” Genius wrote in a statement announcing the project.