Houston: Pop superstar Beyonce took the stage on Friday to introduce Vice President Kamala Harris at her campaign rally in Houston. Beyonce told the crowd, "it's time for America to sing a new song."

Emphasising the importance of voting, the Grammy-winning artist said she was there not just as a celebrity, but as "a mother who cares deeply about the world." The event focused on Harris’s efforts to protect abortion rights in America.

This isn’t the first time Beyoncé has backed a Democratic candidate. In 2009, she performed at a presidential inaugural ball for Barack and Michelle Obama. She also sang the national anthem at Obama’s second inauguration in 2013 and took the stage at a pre-election concert for Hillary Clinton in 2016. “Look how far we’ve come from having no voice to being on the brink of history — again,” Beyoncé remarked then. “But we have to vote.”

A recent Ipsos poll for the nonprofit With Honor revealed that 64 percent of Democrats have a positive view of Beyoncé, while only 32 percent of Republicans feel the same. Overall, 48 percent of Americans hold a favourable opinion of her, compared to 33 percent who do not.

Speculation about whether the superstar would make an appearance at this summer’s Democratic National Convention in Chicago peaked on the final night, fueled by online rumors. Celebrity news site TMZ reported, “Beyoncé is in Chicago, and getting ready to pop out for Kamala Harris on the final night of the Democratic convention,” citing “multiple sources in the know,” though none were named.

Agency