During a chilly week on the cusp of autumn (Aug. 19-22), history was made in Chicago, IL. On Thursday (Aug. 22), the final night of the 2024 Democratic National Convention, Vice President Kamala Harris officially became the first Black woman and first Indian-American to accept a major party presidential nomination.
Throughout the week, the Democratic party’s biggest and rising stars joined forces with a few members of Hollywood’s A-List to help Vice President Harris along her path to the Oval Office. Emmy winner Kerry Washington and SAG Award nominee Tony Goldwyn — who famously played ruthless fixer Olivia Pope and fictional U.S. President Fitzgerald Grant on Shonda Rhimes’ hit ABC political drama Scandal — were two notable actors who served as emcee, as were Tony winner Mindy Kaling, Emmy winner Kenan Thompson, comedian-actor Hughley, and Emmy nominee Eva Longoria. Of course, the star power wasn’t limited to entertainers, with a host of Democratic Party titans delivering rousing speeches, including former President Barack Obama, former President Bill Clinton, Michelle Obama, Hillary Clinton, Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, and Vice Presidential nominee Tim Walz.
Each night featured several musical performers that showcased the breadth of America’s musical history, from country and hip-hop to soul and Americana. On Monday night (Aug. 19), Grammy-nominated country star Mickey Guyton delivered a gorgeous rendition of her unity anthem “All American,” while Jason Isbell performed the moving “Something More Than Free,” the title track from his 2015 LP. Night two (Aug. 20) saw Patti LaBelle belt her way through “You Are My Friend” to soundtrack the in memoriam segment, and Common thrilled the packed arena with “Fortunate,” a cut from his recently released joint album with Pete Rock. For the convention’s third night (Aug. 21), Maren Morris performed “Better Than We Found It,” the great Stevie Wonder gave a lengthy speech before launching into a groovy rendition of his 1973 Billboard Hot 100 top 10 hit “Higher Ground” (No. 4), and John Legend and Sheila E. joined forces for “Let’s Go Crazy” in tribute to Prince, who shares a home state with Walz in Minnesota. To close out the convention (Aug. 22), The Chicks opened the primetime portion with the National Anthem and P!nk wailed a heart-wrenching version of “What About Us” alongside her talented daughter, Willow Sage.
Led by Harris’ adoption of Charli XCX‘s brat aesthetic in the earliest moments of her presidential campaign, the 2024 election cycle has become incredibly intertwined with pop music. That trend continued at the DNC, with the campaign’s official anthem — Beyoncé and Kendrick Lamar‘s 2016 duet “Freedom”– blaring through the speakers what felt like every five minutes. Jon Batiste’s “Freedom” — a cut from 2021’s We Are, which made him the first Black artist in 14 years to win the album of the year Grammy — also played before and after every campaign ad aired as an interlude between speakers. From the delightfully zany roll call to the “surprise appearance” that never happened, the DNC was a large-scale demonstration of how music and pop celebrity can be wielded by politics that placate at best and pedal platitudes and paltry promises at worst.
Here are the five best moments of the 2024 Democratic National Convention.
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Common Puts On For Chi-Town
From its deep musical and cultural roots to its position as the definitive urban stronghold of the Midwest, Chicago is a powerhouse of a city. All of the primetime DNC performers hailed from the States, but just one could lay claim to Chi-Town: Common.
The Oscar and Grammy-winning rapper performed “Fortunate,” a cut from his new joint album with Pete Rock, complete with lyrics tailored for the occasion. In between shouting out Harris and Walz, Common’s performance highlighted the soul and hip-hop that ground Chicago’s sonic profile, while also playing on the campaign’s overarching theme of hope and joy. Arguably, Kanye “Ye” West has been the artist most closely associated with Chicago for the past two decades or so, and given the “Stronger” rapper’s recent political journey, his absence from the week’s playlist wasn’t that surprising. Nonetheless, Common’s performance offered Chicago a chance to bask in the spotlight and be recognized beyond their position as the convention’s host city.
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Stevie Wonder Takes Voters to “Higher Ground”
“We must keep on keeping on until we are truly a united people of these United States and then we will reach a higher ground,” Wonder said before launching into a spirited rendition of his beloved classic “Higher Ground.” And that’s exactly where he took the 2024 Democratic National Convention on Wednesday night (Aug. 21).
Not only was Wonder’s address both measured and inspirational, but hearing him effortlessly smash such an uplifting song was a beautiful reminder that he truly is the most important American musician that we still have with us. His voice rang across United Center with sincerity and conviction, transforming his pleas for civic action into a brief moment of musical catharsis for both himself and the crowd. There were a lot of unity-driven messages throughout the week, but few can deliver that kind of message with the gravity and believability of one of the greatest musicians to ever walk this Earth. In fact, Wonder’s performance was the only one that the crowd so obviously wanted to continue. Did we mention how great his voice still sounds after so many decades?
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The Playlist
In between the lively speeches and poignant performances, DJ Metro and the house band kept the party going. Across the convention’s four days, both Metro and the band opted for a mixture of classics (Kool & The Gang‘s “Celebrate” and Rufus‘ “Tell Me Something Good”) and contemporary smashes (Beyoncé’s “Texas Hold ‘Em” and Mark Ronson & Bruno Mars‘ “Uptown Funk!”) to keep the crowd’s spirits high and continue to hammer the campaign’s themes of freedom and joy. All those fun jumbotron clips didn’t fall out of a coconut tree! They happened due, in large part, to the consistency of the music during the convention’s transitionary moments.
Of course, the real playlist flex came courtesy of DJ Cassidy, who helped emcee a particularly lively roll call that featured a surprise cameo from Lil Jon and state-defining songs from Lynyrd Skynyrd, Chappell Roan, Aretha Franklin and Noah Kahan. Click here for a list of all the songs played during roll call and their Hot 100 peaks.
Check out a playlist of all the songs Billboard heard on the ground at the 2024 DNC here:
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The Surprise That Never Materialized
On the final night of the 2024 Democratic National Convention, a pesky little rumor became the night’s most anticipated moment. A few tweets from blue-checked X accounts turned into legitimate reports that the DNC had some major surprises in store, one of which would almost certainly be a Beyoncé appearance or performance.
After all, given Queen Bey’s lengthy history with supporting Democrats during presidential election cycles, it wasn’t far-fetched. She sang at Obama’s Inaugural Ball in 2009, performed the National Anthem at his 2013 Inauguration, played “Formation” at a rally for Hillary Clinton in 2016, and took to Instagram to throw her support behind Biden and Harris in 2020. What’s more? Beyoncé also permitted Harris to use “Freedom” — her powerful 2016 collaboration with Kendrick Lamar — as her campaign’s official song.
Despite the ever-growing rumors, no such surprise materialized by the end of the night, and certainly not a Beyoncé-sized surprise. Although most of the arena was expecting an appearance from either Beyoncé or Taylor Swift, the disappointment at their absence was barely discernible. All else dimmed in comparison to the arena’s fervor for Vice President Harris on her history-making night. If anyone still needed proof that people are energized about Harris, it was laid bare for the world to see on Thursday night. Kamala Harris was her very own pop star moment.
“I ain’t come here to see Beyoncé,” proclaimed a woman on her way out of the arena following Harris’ acceptance speech. “I came to see Kamala!”
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Dems Stake Their Claim In 2024’s Country Music Boom
Generally, country music has long been associated with America’s more conservative pockets — and recent controversial Hot 100 chart-toppers like Jason Aldean‘s “Try That In A Small Town” have only exacerbated that dynamic. 2024 has seen the country music boom of the early 2020s reach a fever pitch, with two of the era’s biggest pop stars — Beyoncé and Post Malone — dropping full-fledged country LPs. In addition to Shaboozey‘s historic breakout hit “A Bar Song” enrapturing the country for weeks on end, more pop-oriented acts like Sabrina Carpenter (“Please Please Please”) and Dasha (“Austin”) have ridden the country wave to chart hits.
As such, it was no surprise to see the DNC stake its own claim in the country music bonanza, opting to highlight fringe country artists who often operate on the sidelines of the genre’s mainstream for a variety of reasons. Mickey Guyton, the first Black woman to earn a Grammy nomination for best country solo performance, delivered a winning performance of “All American,” while Maren Morris, a Grammy-winning country star who recently (and somewhat controversially) left the genre, performed a forward-looking country-tinged track in “Better Than We Found It.” Jason Isbell operates more on the Americana side, but he’s country-coded enough to fit in this category as well. And then there were The Chicks, this century’s greatest country music disruptors who famously condemned former President George W. Bush over his handling of the Iraq War. The Billboard 200-topping trio was the perfect choice for a legacy country act because of their history of breaking line with Republicans in the American genre, perhaps, most overtly tied to that party.
