Jay-Z, Springsteen, Kid Rock, and More Stars Swarm the Campaign Trail
In the frenzied hours leading up to Election Day, stars hit the campaign trail to stump for the presidential candidates.
President Obama kicked off his last full day of campaigning with Bruce Springsteen. After wrapping up a concert in Wisconsin, The Boss hitched a ride aboard Air Force One with the president, as they traveled to the next campaign stop in Columbus, Ohio.
"President Obama ran last time as a man of hope and change, and you hear a lot of talk about things are different," Springsteen told the Wisconsin crowd. "Things aren't any different now. They're just realer. It's crunch time now."
Jay-Z also performed for Obama in Columbus and offered a censored rendition of his controversial hit "99 Problems," replacing the word "b***" with "Mitt."
"They told me no colorful language. So I brought two songs. I have to do it, I'm sorry," Jay-Z joked upon taking the stage. "I changed the lyric of the song. It goes like this - so let's do it real fast before they come up here" and take the mic away.
READ: Jay-Z Inserts 'Mitt' for 'B****' in Song at Obama Rally
Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney was back in the New Hampshire Monday night with Kid Rock.
The rapping rocker first endorsed Romney and his running mate, Rep. Paul Ryan, last month during a Michigan rally in which he introduced Ryan.
"It is a little difficult to put myself in this position knowing it may alienate a few fans," he told the raucous crowd, "but you know what I really believe strongly that it's OK to disagree on politics and the direction of our country without hating one another."
Rock acknowledged that the entertainment industry "leans very left." Nonetheless, some high-profile celebrities, notably Clint Eastwood, Robert Duval and Kelsey Grammer, have come out in favor of Romney.
Less than two weeks before the election, the singer Meat Loaf made his first move on the political stage, performing at a Defiance, Ohio, rally for Romney, along with country stars Big and Rich and Randy Owen of the band Alabama.
"I have never been in any political agenda in my life, but I think that in 2012 this is the most important election in the history of the United States," said the singer Meat Loaf, whose real name is Michael Lee Aday.
Then he led a call and response with the audience. "Let me hear y'all repeat after me. Mitt Romney!… 'Cause he can stand in the storm."
Ohio's importance in the election was highlighted by the number of celebrities stumping in the state.
At a weekend campaign stop in Cincinnati, Ohio, President Obama got an assist from Stevie Wonder, who led the crowd in a chant, "Fired Up! Ready to Go!" to the tune of his hit song, "Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours," which the president often used on the stump.
In neighboring Wisconsin, Katy Perry donned a skin-tight mini-dress with President Obama's campaign slogan "Forward" emblazoned across it at the president's rally in Milwaukee.
In Florida, another battleground state, former "Desperate Housewives" star Eva Longoria led the call for Obama about a week before the election.
"Morning, Floridians!" the Obama campaign co-chair tweeted Oct. 28. "[I'm] in Orlando and Tampa today! Don't forget [that] early voting started! Go vote from now til Nov. 3rd!"
"Mad Men" star Jon Hamm appealed to Nevada residents last week with help from actor Bryan Greenberg, star of HBO's "How to Make It in America."
"Jon Hamm and I. Two St. Louis boys who want you to vote," Greenberg, 34, wrote next to an Instagrammed snapshot of himself and Hamm, wearing an Obama/Biden button on his leather jacket.
In New Hampshire, Julianne Moore, who recently won an Emmy for playing Sarah Palin in the HBO film "Game Change," donned a cape emblazoned with the Obama logo Oct. 27.
"Super volunteers for @BarackObama!" the actress tweeted, reminding her followers to vote.
Further south, in North Carolina, Kevin Hart took the stage for Obama Oct. 27, along with Alicia Keys, Trey Songz and LeToya Luckett, a one-time member of Destiny's Child.
"Me & @letoyaLuckett at NCCU encouraging young people to VOTE," Hart tweeted.
The former "SNL" funnyman appeared in a video, titled "Will Ferrell Will Do Anything to Get You to Vote," posted this weekend on President Obama's campaign website.
Wearing a burgundy dinner jacket, Ferrell offered a home-cooked meal, a private dance, a tattoo, even to punch himself in the face, in return for a vote for Obama.