1990 until 2017, and although episode writer Dana Gould is credited as the sole lyricist, Al Jean clarified in the commentary track that the lyrics were a collaborative effort between several Simpsons writers. Some time prior to the episode's conception, Jean suggested that, due to a “significant royalty [for] having songs in an episode”, any lyrics written by the writing staff for use in a Simpsons episode should be credited to whoever originally wrote the episode in order to prevent potential arguments over who should be credited and who should receive the royalties. Although the songs originally pitched were more faithful to the melodies of the Evita songs they were based on, the show was forced to modify the melodies for legal reasons. A medley of the songs featured in the episode was included in the 2007 compilation album The Simpsons: Testify. Reception In 2007, Vanity Fair called "The President Wore Pearls" the tenth best episode of The Simpsons, the most recent episode on the list. John Orvted said, "It may seem ludicrous to include anything later than Season 8 in this list, but this one is brilliant. The musical numbers are astoundingly good, and Lisa's comeuppance is so well constructed it harkens back to the golden years of the show (Seasons 3 through 8)." In 2019, Time ranked the episode fourth in its list of 10 best Simpsons episodes picked by Simpsons experts. Alf Clausen and Dana Gould were nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics for the first song in the episode, "Vote for a Winner", but lost to "Because You Are Beautiful" from Until the Violence Stops. References External links The Simpsons (season 15) episodes Musical television episodes Television episodes about elections 2003 American television episodes Cultural depictions of Michael Moore