Joni Mitchell explains why she obtained US citizenship

The Both Sides Now singer - who left her native Canada for America back in 1965 - revealed earlier this week that she had taken on dual nationality, and she's now explained she went through the formal process in order to follow in the footsteps of Neil Young, who did the same back in 2020 and explained at the time that he had done so in order to vote against Donald Trump in the elections that year.

Joni told Rolling Stone magazine: "I became a citizen so I could vote.

The 82-year-old singer has retired from music in order to focus on her "first love", painting, and on 4 November, she will release NEWS, a collection of 23 pieces of art featuring song lyrics, slogans and imagery to tackle the 24-hour news cycle.

The back cover of NEWS reads: “Recently I retired from music in order to pursue my first love, painting.

“When [George] Bush was president and the Twin Towers in New York were attacked, I did a series of political paintings. In the current climate, I felt a need to express my concern. It is an artist’s duty to speak up.

“Picasso created ‘Guernica’ to protest the Spanish Civil War. Charlie Chaplin’s film The Great Dictator ridiculed Hitler. Mel Brooks’ comedy The Producers also took a poke at that mad man with Springtime for Hitler. NEWS is my protest song — a song not for the ears, but for the eyes. I hope that you will not be offended by the truth of it. This is not fake news!”

The paintings from NEWS will be on display at the LA Louver gallery in Venice, California, on 29 and 30 October. NEWS will be available as a standard edition, and there will be 500 hand-numbered and signed editions sold on Joni's website and Julien's Publishing. The latter will also host an exclusive auction for the first 10 numbered books, which is running now until 29 October. All proceeds will go to the ACLU, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Save the Children, and ASPCA.

Two years ago, fronting a Joni Jam at the Hollywood Bowl, she blasted US president Donald Trump and lamented not being in a position to formally have her voice heard.

She said: "F*** Donald Trump. I wish I could vote…I’m a Canadian. I’m one of those lousy immigrants."