If you’ve been watching the Olympics at all, you’ve probably seen the General Motors commercial featuring Brandi Carlile‘s song "The Story". I bought her CD more than a year ago after listening to an NPR story about her most recent album. She creates beautiful music, and invents meaningful lyrics. It’s the kind of CD that my music snob friends have listened to and said: "Who is that?"

So when I heard her voice coming from my television last week, my first thought was: "Great. Another incredible artist sells out." Until I read a blurb in the DMN explaining otherwise.

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Turns out, Carlile agreed to do the commercial because it promotes environmentally responsible cars. She explained this to fans on her MySpace page, where she also shared that "every last penny from the GM ad is being donated and split between several environmental organizations exploring alternative energy and effecting change on a grass roots level."

The commercial has catapulted her music to the Amazon and iTunes top 10 lists — and Carlile deserves that placement.