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.
@abbyroberts 10 seconds vs 2 hours makeup ✨
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.
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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.
THERE IS A LITERAL PERSON NAMED RITT MOMNEY AND ITS NOT MITT ROMNEY FROM AN ALTERNATE UNIVERSE https://t.co/Miwzg2r2W7
— swaggenheimer (@applepiepax) November 16, 2020
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.
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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.
Wait Ritt Momney is a person??? I thought we were just making fun of Mitt Romney
— Jenna (@jennabsams) November 16, 2020
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.
People with no comprehension skills, its not that he's white, its not that he's from Utah, its not he's called ritt momney, its the combination of all 3, the name "Ritt Momney" is trending, in regards to a song written by a black woman, a name based off a CONSERVATIVE politician
— Shamir (@ShamirBailey) November 16, 2020
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.
Let me make a thread rlly quick:
I think it was stupid of me to cover a song by a black woman, especially one that mentions aspects of black life that I obviously have no experience with. If I could go back and simply cover another song by someone else I would https://t.co/M5RCl3NOTF
— Ritt Momney (@rittmomney) November 16, 2020
I ignorantly looked past lines like “gotta love that Afro hairdo” without considering the cultural significance they could have in the Black community. I recently went thru the Genius page for the song and got more context: pic.twitter.com/oycjt8TfTK
— Ritt Momney (@rittmomney) November 16, 2020
I can absolutely understand why a lot of people are angry about it and I’m really sorry to have appropriated it like that. I’ve always loved the song and seen it as a happy summertime anthem, but I’ve only recently started to understand how much more it means to some https://t.co/VwmbHCdboV
— Ritt Momney (@rittmomney) November 16, 2020
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.
For everyone saying my cover pales in comparison to the original I honestly, genuinely agree please go stream thishttps://t.co/WptnacwXHt
— Ritt Momney (@rittmomney) November 16, 2020
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?
