Beyoncé suggests Kamala Harris use ‘Freedom’ as campaign song

Michael Buckner/Variety (Beyoncé); Getty Images (Harris)

Kamala Harris is feeling her “freedom” with Beyoncé’s official endorsement. The presumptive Democratic presidential nominee entered her campaign headquarters Monday night to the upbeat anthem from Beyoncé’s 2016 album “Lemonade.” CNN later reported that Harris had gotten the superstar’s express permission to use the song for her campaign just hours earlier.

According to CNN’s report, a source close to Harris revealed that “just hours before she stood up to perform the song,” Beyoncé’s camp gave Harris’ team the OK to play “Freedom” not just Monday night but “throughout her presidential campaign.”

Beyoncé has yet to officially endorse Harris for vice president (though her mother, Tina Knowles, has), but her official approval of the song will likely be taken as a tacit endorsement. It’s not a stretch to imagine that an explicit endorsement from Beyoncé for Harris’ candidacy could be coming soon. The singer endorsed the Joe Biden/Harris ticket in 2000, and she performed in support of Hillary Clinton four years before that, in addition to performing at Barack Obama’s second inauguration in 2013.

“Freedom,” which features a guest appearance by Kendrick Lamar, was never officially released as a single, and in its status as an album title track, it peaked at No. 35 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2016. Yet it remains the most enduring song from the acclaimed “Lemonade” album in some ways, as a socially conscious anthem that was reignited with even greater resonance in the wake of the killing of George Floyd.

“Freedom” may be just one of many songs Harris uses on the campaign trail, though it’s hard to think of many that would potentially be as effective with a younger and middle-aged base.

In 2020, when the Biden/Harris team won that year’s election, Harris delivered her victory speech to the song “Work That” by Mary J. Blige (2007).

Harris and music were already a topic of discussion and memes throughout the day Monday. One of the hottest singers of the moment, Charli XCX, appeared to endorse Harris when she posted the slogan “Kamala IS Brat” (a reference to her current album title), and Harris’ campaign embraced the slogan by reposting it, even adopting the album’s green color and font and posting more “Brat”-themed memes.

And, while it wasn’t fresh news, music fans began circulating a video from 2023 in which Harris was caught leaving a record store and showing off her new purchases of classic vinyl albums by Charles Mingus, Roy Ayers, and Louis Armstrong & Ella Fitzgerald.

In addition to Charli XCX, other musicians who have posted about Harris or publicly expressed their support for her since she received Biden’s endorsement to lead the Democratic nomination on Sunday include Ariana Grande, Barbra Streisand, John Legend, Katy Perry, Janelle Monáe, Carole King, Lizzo, Demi Lovato, Lil Nas X, Cardi B, Moby, Questlove and Kesha.

Democrats have had an easier time finding support in recent years from a number of high-profile artists. But Republicans haven’t been entirely without their own artists willing to publicly endorse former President Donald Trump. At the Republican National Convention last week, Trump took the stage as Lee Greenwood sang the venerable “Proud to Be an American,” after sitting next to a T-shirt-clad Jason Aldean in the audience. Kid Rock also performed his old “American Bad Ass” at the convention, with altered lyrics that included new lines like “It smells bad in here because Trump is the shush.”

Of course, not all political candidates wait for approval to use a song in their campaign — or stop it when artists publicly object or even issue cease-and-desist orders. The long list of rockers who have publicly objected to Trump’s use of their songs over the past three presidential campaign cycles includes the Rolling Stones, Tom Petty, Neil Young, REM and Adele. The rarest example of this phenomenon on the other side occurred when Sam Moore objected to Obama’s use of the Sam and Dave classic “Soul Man” in 2008. As a Republican, Moore likely had no such objections when Trump used “Hold On, I’m Comin’” as his opening song at last week’s Republican convention.