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Agence France-Presse

Donald Trump had promised to bring showbiz pizzazz to the Republican convention, but it was instead the Democrats who put on a slick show of A-list entertainers in their bid to elect Hillary Clinton.
Shortly before Clinton’s high-stakes speech to accept the presidential nomination on Thursday, the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia brought out one of the biggest stars there is - Katy Perry.
The 31-year-old pop singer briefly gave the arena the aura of one of her shows, with delegates dancing with their illuminated phones in the air.
Clinton makes bold play for political centre ground, vows to be president for ‘all Americans’
Clutching a microphone decked out in a sparkling US flag, Perry sang two songs that Clinton could easily take as anthems - her hit Roar and her latest single Rise. 
Perry’s voice returned at the end of the convention as Clinton and her running mate Tim Kaine came out to her blockbuster song Firework, as real fireworks erupted from the stage at a packed Philadelphia sports arena.
Perry, noting that her own parents supported Trump’s Republican Party, urged young Americans to vote on November 8.
“You will have as much say as any billionaire. Or you can just cancel out your weird cousin’s vote if you like,” she said.
Coming of age: Chelsea Clinton steps up to a new role, softening the focus around mother Hillary
While many of the pop singer’s legions of fans are unlikely to have been watching the convention, Perry used a tool that she has mastered like few others - social media.
Perry, who has described herself as Clinton’s “number one fan,” shared her message over Twitter where she has more followers than anyone else in the world - 91 million, far more than the number of votes for President Barack Obama in 2012.
Perry was not the only prominent musician to take the stage at the Democratic convention. Folk legend Paul Simon sang on the opening night, while Lenny Kravitz, Alicia Keys, Boyz II Men and Demi Lovato were among the performers.
Outside the arena, pop diva Lady Gaga and Snoop Dogg, the hip-hop great and marijuana enthusiast, also entertained delegates.
When a documentary-style biography appeared at the convention to introduce Clinton, the audience heard the immediately recognisable voice of Morgan Freeman.
Other Hollywood A-listers who offered their star power to help Clinton included Meryl Streep, who highlighted the former secretary of state’s historic role as the first woman nominee from a major party for the world’s most powerful job.
“What does it take to be the first female anything?” asked Streep, whose roles have included Margaret Thatcher. “It takes grit and it takes grace.”
Comedian Sarah Silverman had one of the most pointed lines among celebrities at the convention.
A former supporter of leftist challenger Bernie Sanders, she chastised the senator’s die-hard backers as “ridiculous” if they did not support Clinton in her showdown with Trump.
But several celebrity backers of Sanders remained unswayed by Clinton, notably actress Susan Sarandon, who said she was “disgusted” by bias against Sanders as revealed in leaked emails by Democratic National Committee members.
The celebrity showing was nevertheless in stark contrast to the Republican National Convention a week earlier in Cleveland.
In the end, only a limited number of artists performed in or around the Republican convention including Lynyrd Skynyrd, best known for their 1974 song Sweet Home Alabama, and Kid Rock.
Another well-known artist booked on the sidelines of the Cleveland convention was Third Eye Blind - but the group instead used the platform to denounce Republicans on issues including gay rights.


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(160727) -- PHILADELPHIA, July 27, 2016 (Xinhua) -- Actress Meryl Streep speaks at the 2016 Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the United States on July 26, 2016.  (Xinhua/Li Muzi)(wjd)

epa05441073 US singer Demi Lovato (C) performs on the first day of the Democratic National Convention at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, 25 July 2016. The four-day convention is expected to end with Hillary Clinton formally accepting the nomination of the Democratic Party as their presidential candidate in the 2016 election. EPA/ANDREW GOMBERT

Musician Lenny Kravitz performs during the Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S., on Wednesday, July 27, 2016. With the historic nomination for the first woman to run as the presidential candidate of a major U.S. political party, Democrats gathered in Philadelphia hoped they had turned a corner on Tuesday. Photographer: Daniel Acker/Bloomberg

Katy Perry performs during the last day of the Democratic National Convention at the Wells Fargo Centre in Philadelphia on Thursday. Photo: TNS

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