Twitter Users Confuse Singer Songwriter Ritt Momney With Senator Mitt Romney

Despite speculations, Senator Mitt Romney is not leaving politics to ignite his music career.

Speculations first arose when 21-year old singer/songwriter Jack Rutter – under the stage name “Ritt Momney” – released a cover of Corinne Bailey Rae’s classic ‘Put Your Records On.’

Rutter’s modern twist on the 2006 R&B song soon became a TikTok trend when over 1.5 million people used the cover to show off their makeup talents. In most of the videos, a user would start by putting on makeup from a color pallet, but when the beat drops, they transition to the final look after hours of working on their look. One famous TikToker who participated in this trend was Abby Roberts who received over 11 million views.

The Story Behind Ritt Momney’s Name

After the song went viral, Rutter’s cover made it to the Billboard Hot 100 and signed a record deal with Disruptor/Columbia.

However, people who are unfamiliar with Rutter’s previous projects – such as his 2019 album Her and All My Friends – immediately thought of Utah Senator Mitt Romney when they saw the name “Ritt Momney”, and they are right to do so.

Rutter is from Salt Lake City, Utah and formed a band with his friends during his junior year of high school. Because Senator Mitt Romney represents Utah in the Senate, Rutter and his bandmates thought it would be funny to name their band “Ritt Momney,” switching the first letters of Senator Mitt Romney’s first and last name. Even though Ritt Momney is a band, Rutter’s cover of ‘Put Your Records On’ is a solo track, despite being released under the band’s name.

Though Rutter has now gained fame from the stage name inspired by Utah’s senator and the former Presidential Republican Nominee, unfortunately, Rutter has never met Senator Romney. But in an interview with Billboard Rutter said he hopes Romney’s grandchildren might have mentioned him to their grandfather after hearing his song on TikTok.

Twitter’s Reactions to Ritt Momney’s Similarity to Mitt Romney

Since the Billboard interview, Twitter has gone into a frenzy as some thought Senator Mitt Romney released the cover of ‘Put Your Records On’ under the pseudonym “Ritt Momney.”

https://twitter.com/taylorw89951025/status/1328383373010677762?s=10

One user even thought Ritt Momney was Mitt Romney from visiting from an alternate universe.

Those who acknowledge that Mitt Romney and Ritt Momney are two different people commented on the coincidence that there are two people with very similar names.

https://twitter.com/exoidr/status/1328394926816702465?s=10

Because Ritt Momney was trending on Twitter, people who are unfamiliar with the cover were surprised that “Ritt Momney” was not trending as a joke or insult towards Senator Romney.

https://twitter.com/realpxblo/status/1328389198194352130?s=10

Controversy Over Ritt Momney Covering ‘Put Your Records On’

After Ritt Momney began to trend due to its twist to Senator Mitt Romney’s name, some began to express their frustrations with a white man covering ‘Put Your Records On,’ a song about embracing life as a black woman.

Since receiving criticism for butchering Corinne Bailey Rae’s song, Rutter has said that he regrets covering the song as he said neglected the deeper meaning behind it, especially the lyric “gotta love that Afro hairdo,” which is in reference to Rae finally being comfortable to wear her hair naturally in public.

As a final tweet, Rutter posted a link to the original ‘Put Your Records On’ by Corinne Bailey Rae as he claims that his cover is not comparable to the original.

Though some have accused Rutter for not giving Rae credit, Rutter has repeatedly in many interviews given full credit to Corinne Bailey Rae for his rise to fame and recent popularity of the song as he said “the song itself does the heavy lifting” and he just “modernized it.”

Also, in his interview with Billboard, Rutter said that his manager is in contact with Corinne Bailey Rae’s manager and is hoping to do an interview with her at some point.

There may be controversies surrounding Ritt Momney’s cover of ‘Put Your Records On, ‘ but Rutter has reincarnated the hype surrounding this beautiful song, allowing a new generation to enjoy it, just like TikTok bringing ‘Dream’ by Fleetwood Mac back to life.

Some hopes may be shattered after learning Mitt Romney did not cover ‘Put Your Records On,’ but Capitol Hill needs him a bit more in working on a stimulus bill for COVID-19 relief.

What are your thoughts on the cover ‘Put Your Records On?’ Did you at first think Mitt Romney and Ritt Momney were the same person?

The post Twitter Users Confuse Singer Songwriter Ritt Momney With Senator Mitt Romney appeared first on What's Trending.