Beyoncé has reportedly granted Kamala Harris permission to use her hit song Freedom as the anthem for her 2024 presidential campaign.
On Monday, Vice President Harris made a dramatic entrance at her rebranded campaign headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware, walking out to the powerful track from the Texan singer’s 2016 album Lemonade.
The song, featuring Kendrick Lamar, set an energetic tone as Harris was welcomed by her campaign team and supporters.
Hours before Harris's appearance, Beyoncé’s representatives confirmed to CNN that the singer had agreed to let her track Freedom be used as the campaign anthem.
The song's lyrics, "I’ma keep running, ‘cause a winner don’t quit on themselves," resonate with its political themes, as noted by the song’s writer Carla Marie Williams in an interview with Fader.
Williams added: “It’s a spiritual song, but it’s a political song, because we’re saying, we’re gonna keep marching.”
While Beyoncé has not yet made an official endorsement in the 2024 race, several prominent female celebrities, including Charli XCX, Katy Perry, Cardi B, and Kesha, have publicly supported Harris.
Harris’s request to use Beyoncé’s song follows recent controversy involving a song played at Donald Trump’s rallies.
During the Republican National Convention last week—just days after surviving an assassination attempt—Trump made his entrance to Sam & Dave’s 1966 hit, Hold On, I’m Coming.
David Porter, co-writer of the song, expressed his disapproval to The Independent, noting that Trump, 78, never sought permission to feature the track in his political campaign.
He said: “I can say [that] I don’t want any of my songs used for political campaigns. We create music for uplifting people, not separating them.”
Harris has built up a seemingly unstoppable head of steam since Joe Biden, 81, confirmed on Sunday that he was abandoning his re-election bid, hobbled by intense and widening doubts about his mental and physical health.
A tally of delegates by the Associated Press showed that Ms Harris has won the backing of more than 2,500 party delegates, well over the bar of 1,976 needed to formally clinch the nomination when Democrats convene in Chicago next month.
Replacing Mr Biden as the 2024 nominee has also intensified speculation about who might join Harris as a vice presidential candidate.
The shortlist of people being discussed is said to include Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper, Arizona Senator Mark Kelly, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, and Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer.
