Beyoncé Officially Endorses Kamala Harris at Houston Hometown Rally: “It’s Time to Sing a New Song!”
This is Texas, and Beyoncé aims to help Kamala Harris hold ’em (voters). The KHive has (finally) met the BeyHive. After reportedly personally blessing the use of her song “Freedom” as Harris’s theme music for her presidential campaign, Beyoncé appeared alongside Harris at the Democratic candidate’s rally in Houston Friday night.
An energetic crowd that the Harris campaign estimated was more than 30,000 strong gathered at Shell Energy Stadium Friday night, taking in speakers and videos focused around reproductive rights, as well as a performance by Willie Nelson and a speech by Texas Rep. Colin Allred, who is running against sitting Republican Sen. Ted Cruz in the state’s senate race.
Bey’s mom, Tina Knowles, took the stage and delivered an impassioned speech in support of Harris, following up on the endorsement of Harris and running mate Tim Walz she shared back in July on the same day President Joe Biden announced that he would step aside and endorse Harris to take his place. Knowles finished off the speech by announcing that she was “so honored to welcome two of my daughters, Kelly and Beyoncé!”
Beyoncé and Destiny’s Child bandmate Kelly Rowland, who moved in with the Knowles family at a young age and calls Knowles “Mama T,” took the stage to Destiny’s Child’s “Independent Women, Part 1.”
After remarks by Rowland, Beyoncé addressed her hometown crowd by bellowing, “H-Town!” in greeting. She called Harris “a woman who has been pushing for what this country really needs right now.”
“It’s impossible not to feel the energy in this room, the community, or the humanity,” she said. “We are at the precipice of an incredible shift, at the brink of history. I’m not here as a celebrity, I’m not here as a politician, I’m here as a mother who cares deeply about the world my children and all of our children live, a world where we have freedom to control our bodies, a world where we are not divided—our past, our present, our future meet us here.”
“It’s time to sing a new song, a song that began 248 years ago,” she continued later. “The old notes—of downfall, discord, despair—no longer resonate. Our generations of loved ones before us are whispering a prophecy, a quest, a calling, an anthem. Our moment right now—it’s time for America to sing a new song. Our voices sing a chorus of unity. They sing a song of dignity and opportunity.”
As usual, Harris entered the stage to the sound of Beyoncé’s “Freedom.” This time, she was greeted by Queen Bey herself along with her blaring song. Harris hugged Rowland and then Beyoncé, then took the podium to stump in a state with some of the nation’s most restrictive abortion laws.
Until Friday, Beyoncé herself had kept mum on her choice of candidate. Rumors of a performance by Queen Bey on the final night of the 2024 Democratic National Convention back in August turned out to be greatly exaggerated, but, months later, in the final days before voters head to the polls, it came to fruition in Bey’s hometown.
The singer endorsed the Biden-Harris ticket back in the 2020 election, and in 2016, headlined a performance with her husband, Jay-Z, in support of Hillary Clinton’s presidential bid. Audiences have long waited for Beyoncé to speak out officially, though she’s signaled her support in other ways.
According to Billboard, the singer’s label sent a cease and desist letter to Donald Trump’s campaign earlier in the election cycle, telling the Republican candidate to remove a video using “Freedom.”
The singer’s endorsement is more than just symbolic—her stamp of approval could actually sway voters. A recent poll conducted by Newsweek found that some 40% of surveyed Gen Z voters said that they were “more likely” or “significantly more likely” to vote for a candidate who had earned Beyoncé’s endorsement.
Bey joins other powerhouse musical acts such as Taylor Swift, Chappell Roan, Charli XCX, Bruce Springsteen, and more by voicing her support for Harris.
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