Beyoncé Rumors Briefly Took Center Stage. Kamala Harris Grabbed It Back.

The study was published astir 7 p.m. connected Thursday, successful each caps. TMZ announced that Beyoncé would beryllium “PERFORMING AT DNC’S FINAL NIGHT!!!” After days of progressively frenzied rumors that she would marque an quality astatine the Democratic National Convention, this study acceptable the United Center successful Chicago abuzz. But TMZ was wrong. So was Mitt Romney. So were the betting markets. So was fundamentally each of societal media.

Instead, Vice President Kamala Harris ended the normal by advising attendees to instrumentality earnestly the task of preserving ideology and not to observe prematurely.

It was a sobering extremity to a time of celebrity-centered anticipation. Since the Harris run chose Beyoncé’s “Freedom” arsenic its run taxable song, I had heard aggravated speculation that the vocalist would beryllium a peculiar impermanent connected the nighttime of Harris’s acceptance code to go the party’s statesmanlike nominee. On the convention’s archetypal day, Harris released her caller run ad, featuring “Freedom.” There was the precedent acceptable by past conventions, with Stevie Wonder performing successful 2008 for Barack Obama, and Katy Perry successful 2016 for Hillary Clinton. There was the footage of a marching set rehearsing Beyoncé’s songs successful the arena.

There was the nationalist anthem sung by the Chicks, with whom Beyoncé performed astatine the Country Music Association Awards successful 2016. Their beingness seemed lone to reenforce the inevitability of her expansive entrance. By 9 p.m., things had reached a fever pitch: I was told by a person of a person I was sitting adjacent to that Beyoncé and Taylor Swift were expected to look onstage unneurotic successful a people of feminist solidarity, and basal with the thousands of delegates dressed successful suffragist achromatic clothing. The specificity of the rumor was astounding.