"I Am America" redirects here. For the book by comedian Stephen Colbert, see I Am America (And So Can You!).

Krista Branch
Krista Branch performing at a rally for presidential candidate Herman Cain in Cookeville, Tennessee.
Background information
Born	Mount Pleasant, Texas, United States
Genres	Rock
Occupation(s)	Vocalist
Years active	2010–Present
Website	Official website

Krista Branch is an American singer best known for her 2010 single "I Am America", which has been called the anthem of the Tea Party movement. Branch was born in Mount Pleasant, Texas and later lived in Bixby, Oklahoma. She married her husband, Michael Branch, in 2000 and together they have three kids. Early in the marriage her family faced serious financial difficulties, and later, while they were living in Colorado, faced the near death of Branch's youngest daughter.^[1][2]

A former American Idol contestant, she was eliminated early in the process. Branch produced "I Am America" with her husband, who wrote the song, to protest the treatment of the Tea Party by Democrats.^[1] After being uploaded to YouTube, the song was aired on Glenn Beck's radio show and it quickly grew in popularity.^[3] It was later performed on Fox News and at events across the country. Branch and her husband became supporters of presidential candidate Herman Cain after performing at several events where he was a keynote speaker and "I Am America" was later made the official theme song of the campaign. Another song released by Branch, "Remember Who We Are", has been made the official campaign anthem of Rick Santorum's presidential campaign.

Branch's music regularly evokes religious and political themes emphasizing American exceptionalism. Her music has been well-received among conservative commentators and members of the Tea Party movement for its political message.^[1] The use of Branch's music in the campaigns of Cain and Santorum has been seen as an indication of its appeal among outsider candidates.^[4] She has released nine singles and an EP on iTunes and is working on her debut album for release in 2013.

Branch was born in Mount Pleasant in East Texas, and began singing in her youth at church along with her four siblings. Branch moved out-of-state with her family at the age of 14, but describes herself as still being a proud Texan.^[5] She also lived in Oklahoma for part of her childhood.^[1] She married her husband Michael Branch in the year 2000, and they have since had three children together.^[3] Early in their marriage Branch's husband said they got into financial difficulties as he worked several odd jobs, in addition to his work as a youth pastor, in order to make a living. He describes living with Branch in a "shabby place" in Tulsa, Oklahoma where they struggled to pay $480 a month in rent. When they were living in Colorado, the Branches rented a house they still owned in Oklahoma until the renters stopped paying. The house in Oklahoma was eventually put into foreclosure and sold by the bank for more than the Branches owed on the property.^[1]

During the time Branch and her husband were living in Colorado Springs, their baby daughter, Kenna, nearly drowned in their bathtub. Branch had left the child for a short amount of time, not knowing her daughter had sat on the stopper in the tub, which slowly filled up with water. Upon finding her daughter floating in the bathtub, Branch was certain she was dead. Kenna Branch was resuscitated by EMTs after being without oxygen for an estimated eight to ten minutes. Although the paramedics expected Branch's daughter to suffer brain damage after being without oxygen for so long, a CT scan showed the child's brain activity to be normal. Branch and her husband attributed their child's survival and health to the power of prayer, having been inspired after seeing The Passion of the Christ a few days earlier. A year later their experience would be the subject of a story on the 700 Club.^[2] In order to focus on her music career, Branch and her family moved to Nashville, Tennessee in 2010.^[1]

While living in Bixby, Oklahoma, Branch auditioned for the seventh season of American Idol and was chosen by the judges to move on to the preliminary round in Hollywood. Footage of her performance was not included on the show, but she appeared in a montage at the end of the episode.^[6] A week later she was eliminated from the competition. Branch told The New York Times her decision to enter the contest was not due to a desire to "be somebody", but because she felt she should take any opportunity with the belief that God would bless her efforts.^[1]

Two years later, Branch released her first successful single, "I Am America", on YouTube.^[3] Her husband, Michael Branch, wrote the song partly in response to criticism of the Tea Party protests from Democrats, while also drawing on his own difficulties in life.^[1] In an interview for Billy Kelly of the Washington Times' Tea Party Report, Branch told how soon after her husband wrote the song he had her quickly learn the lyrics and then recorded her performing the song.^[7] She originally felt the song was too confrontational for her, but decided the message was so important that she should record the song.^[5] In the music video, footage of Tea Party rallies is interspersed with scenes of Branch singing on a sound stage and kids holding signs containing political messages and scripture.^[8] "I Am America" was played on the July 7, 2010, broadcast of Glenn Beck's radio show and a week later Fox News host Bill O'Reilly devoted a portion of his “Pinheads and Patriots” segment to the song, saying that "for honoring legitimate protest" Branch was a patriot.^[3][8] About 21 days after being uploaded the video had nearly 475,000 views. "I Am America" soon became a popular song with the Tea Party movement and has been described as the movement's anthem.^[3][7] The New York Times described Branch as having a "dynamic presence" on stage when singing the song.^[1]

Glenn Beck played another Krista Branch song titled "Remember Who We Are" on his radio program early in August of 2010 and the song was featured in a video from Branch promoting Beck's Restoring Honor rally.^[9][10] The lyrics for "Remember Who We Are" contain a mixture of defiant metaphors with a Christian rock style of music.^[11] Branch's husband said he wrote the song to "remind us of who Americans are in the wake of the most trying of times." He stated that Americans stand up and come together in the face of adversity, saying he prayed the song would bring people hope.^[12] Calling it an "inspiring patriotic song", the video for the song was made the "Video of the Day" on Glenn Beck's site on September 3rd, 2010.^[13] Branch released a new single on August 22, 2011, called "Lead Me On", a cover of an Amy Grant song.^[14] Branch bills the song as pro-Israel with a corresponding music video containing imagery related to the history of the Jewish people, including a prominent emphasis on the Holocaust.^[15]

In addition to her performances in the United States, Branch has performed for teens in Guatemala and Slovakia.^[7] She performed at the 2011 Sunbelt Ag Expo in conjunction with the American Bible Society, singing patriotic songs to support American soldiers and performing the national anthem for the Expo.^[16][17] Branch regularly performs with Oklahoma jazz saxophonist Grady Nichols.^[3] She is working on her debut album, which is scheduled to be released in early 2013.^[7]

Branch's music has gained prominence as a result of its use during the 2012 Republican presidential primary.^[5] When she was performing "I Am America" at events across the country, Herman Cain was often the keynote speaker. Branch and her husband came to appreciate his political views and her husband signed on with Cain's campaign. "I Am America" was later adopted by the candidate as his campaign's official theme.^[5] Cain said when interviewed about the song, "The first time I heard that song, the message was so right-on I felt goose bumps just listening to it."^[1] The song was later described by the National Journal as having "underscored Cain’s anti-elitist appeal" with its lyrics.^[18] Campaign ads featuring "I Am America" gave the song increased exposure.^[5] A campaign ad using "I Am America" that included Cain's chief of staff was the subject of numerous parodies also featuring the song.^[19] On The Colbert Report, comedian Stephen Colbert satirically claimed Cain got the line "I Am America" from Colbert's book, I Am America (And So Can You!). Several parodies of the ad were then shown on the program using the song.^[20]

Rick Santorum announced in March that he has adopted Branch's song "Remember Who We Are" as an official theme song for his campaign, having been without a theme song prior to the announcement.^[12] Santorum said he chose the song because "few songs express the beauty and strength of who we are as free Americans better than Krista’s." The song is seen as representing the emotion of his campaign effort.^[11][18]

Branch described the only unifying principle of her music as her belief that we live in the greatest country on earth and said the Tea Party was not so much a rebellion as a love for this nation and a love for freedom. Her music often incorporates overt political themes and strong religious views, that have led to her songs resonating with Tea Party supporters and commentators such as Glenn Beck and Bill O'Reilly.^{[1][5][8][11]}

The artist has performed at political rallies led by Beck and at campaign rallies for Herman Cain. Her husband joined Cain's presidential campaign as state director for Tennessee after hearing him speak at events where Branch performed.^[1] Branch said Cain was a natural choice for her and her husband because she felt their beliefs aligned with Cain's.^[5] Since 2010, she received three payments that totaled $10,000 for live entertainment services provided at political rallies from several political action committees associated with Cain's campaign.^[21]

• Krista Branch on iTunes

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