The Chicks
The Chicks 鈥� formerly known as The Dixie Chicks 鈥� sang 鈥淭he Star-Spangled Banner."
The Chicks were once one of the biggest names in country music, as the band鈥檚 breakthrough albums 鈥� 1998鈥檚 Wide Open Spaces and 1999鈥檚 Fly 鈥� each achieved the Recording Industry Association of America鈥檚 coveted diamond status, signifying sales of more than 10 million copies each.
Then, in 2003, during the run-up to the U.S. war with Iraq, singer told a crowd in London that the band opposed both the war and then-President George W. Bush.
鈥淲e do not want this war, this violence,鈥� Maines said at a Chicks concert, adding, 鈥渁nd we鈥檙e ashamed that the president of the United States is from Texas.鈥�
The moment sparked backlash against The Chicks in the U.S., spearheaded by many of the country radio stations whose playlists the group had once dominated.
In 2020 they performed 鈥淭he Star-Spangled Banner鈥� at the virtual 2020 Democratic National Convention.
And, once again, their performance carried significant cultural weight: In recent weeks, 鈥淣ot Ready to Make Nice鈥� has been , who鈥檝e used the song to signal their opposition to Kamala Harris鈥� candidacy.
Pink
Pink took the stage for a rousing, virtually note-perfect rendition of her 2017 protest anthem 鈥淲hat About Us.鈥� Joined by a guitarist and four backing singers, including her 13-year-old daughter Willow Sage Hart, Pink stayed thematically on-message, as the group sang the song鈥檚 chorus 鈥� 鈥淲hat about us? / What about all the times you said you had the answers?鈥� 鈥� in unison.
The Pack Drumline
Chicago's The Pack Drumline performed, with a drummer even playing upside down.
But no 叠别测辞苍肠茅 or Taylor Swift
Heading into the final night of the DNC, rumors swirled about high-profile, unannounced musical guests 鈥� which, given that , helped create sky-high audience expectations.
and brought plenty of star power of their own. But they weren鈥檛 joined by or , as a broad swath of breathless social-media speculation predicted but could never quite confirm.
Instead, the special, previously unannounced guest was 鈥� nobody. The night鈥檚 headliner, Vice President Harris, had the spotlight to herself 鈥� which may have been the point all along.
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