Harry Connick Jr.'s Love Letter to New Orleans

By Tim Nudd

11/05/2007 at 02:00 PM EST

In his recent commercials for Lincoln, Harry Connick Jr. does more than endorse the MKX crossover vehicle – he endorses his hometown of New Orleans and its struggle to rebuild following Hurricane Katrina.

"It's an incredible city in that it has huge diversity in music and food and people, and as a kid experiencing all that, I feel like the person that I've become is a result of the people I knew growing up here," Connick, 40, says in an extended behind-the-scenes video from his MKX ad shoot.

The video shows Connick mingling with residents of the Habitat for Humanity Musicians Village, a group of new homes that the jazz singer helped construct in the Upper 9th Ward for displaced New Orleans musicians and other qualifying Habitat partner families.

"I just felt like I wanted to be part of the rebuilding process down here," Connick says. "I feel like I owe this city a lot, and I'm glad I can do a little bit to help put it back on the map."