Kamala Harris with Beyoncé? Yes, but the star singer was only heard through loudspeakers

Kamala Harris introduced herself to the country she hopes to lead in the climactic moment of the Democratic national convention on Thursday — and despite chatter about potential mystery guests, Beyoncé's only appearance was over the loudspeakers.

In the end, it was the most traditional of convention moments coming through television screens: the candidate, her running mate and their families bathed in the cheers of supporters, with balloons floating from the rafters.

There had been an anticipatory mood as the night took shape, and it wasn't just for Harris. For days, there were rumors of an appearance by mega-stars Taylor Swift or Beyoncé, whose song “Freedom” has been adopted by the vice president as a campaign theme.

“If she's not, they better come up with something,” said NBC News' Savannah Guthrie.

An NBC reporter wandering the convention floor asked delegates what they would think about a Beyoncé appearance. NBC's Kelly O'Donnell, stationed to the side of the stage, noted shortly before Harris appeared that a curtain was blocking a view that she had throughout the convention of people who had milled about backstage.

Rumors were spreading online to the point where Mitt Romney, the 2012 Republican presidential nominee, posted on X: “Contrary to false news posts, I am not the surprise guest at the DNC tonight. My guess is that it will be Beyoncé or Taylor Swift. So disappointing, I know!”

Emmy Ruiz, the White House director of political strategy and outreach, posted a bee emoji on her X account earlier in the day. Was it a signal to the "Bey-hive"? She quickly wrote, “Sorry guys my 6 year old took my phone.”

Shortly before 8 p.m. Eastern, the celebrity news site TMZ posted a story that said: “Beyoncé is in Chicago, and getting ready to pop out for Kamala Harris on the final night of the Democratic convention." The site attributed it to “multiple sources in the know,” none of them named.

About an hour after Harris ended her speech, TMZ updated its story to say, “To quote the great Beyoncé: We gotta lay our cards down, down, down ... we got this one wrong.” TMZ had no immediate explanation Friday for what happened.

Maybe it was all in fun, but there was a danger to it. Would people tune in to the convention, hoping to see the superstar, and be disappointed if she wasn't there? If she DID show up, would it overshadow the Democratic presidential candidate on the biggest night of her professional life?

Finally, the Hollywood Reporter moved a story about a half hour before Harris took the stage — with “Freedom” playing through the sound system — quoting a representative for the singer saying, “Beyoncé was never scheduled to be there. The report of a performance is untrue.”

Entertainment mixed with political speeches throughout the convention, with Stevie Wonder, Pink, John Legend, the Chicks, Lil Jon and Jason Isbell making appearances.

After a week in which the Democrats' headline speakers appeared after prime time (8 to 11 p.m.) ended for weary viewers on the East Coast, Harris appeared shortly after 10:30 and spoke for 37 minutes. It was an unspoken contrast to opponent Donald Trump. The former president accepted the GOP nomination last month with a 92-minute speech that ended past midnight Eastern time.

Several pundits later emphasized the muscular nature of Harris' speech, particularly on foreign policy.

“People have been talking about her as a joyful warrior,” said CNN's Audie Cornish. “We heard more warrior.”

Fox News' Brit Hume said that it was a speech that President Biden could have made before ending his bid for re-election, “but he could not have delivered it with the force of Harris. It was very strong.”

“Tonight you heard a woman inspired by her mother to dream big and by her father to be fearless,” said ABC News analyst Donna Brazile, a former Democratic National Committee chair.

Robert Costa of CBS News agreed with Harris that it was a new chapter in the American story. “But we're looking ahead to something that could be tumultuous for the country, as it deals with two parties truly pulling at the definition of what it means to be an American.”

Trump, meanwhile, kept up a running commentary on his Truth Social account as she spoke. “A lot of talk about childhood, we've got to get to the Border, Inflation and Crime!” he wrote.

David Bauder writes about media for the AP. Follow him at http://twitter.com/dbauder.

Emily Robison, from left, Natalie Maines and Martie Maguire, of The Chicks, sing the national anthem during the Democratic National Convention Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris, second gentleman Doug Emhoff, Democratic vice presidential candidate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and his wife Gwen Walz and members of their families stand on stage as balloons drop on the final night of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024. (Kent Nishimura/The New York Times via AP, Pool)

Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris, second gentleman Doug Emhoff, Democratic vice presidential candidate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and his wife Gwen Walz and members of their families stand on stage as balloons drop on the final night of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024. (Kent Nishimura/The New York Times via AP, Pool)

BOSTON (AP) — A study that explores the feasibility of using pigeons to guide missiles and one that looks at the swimming abilities of dead fish were among the winners Thursday of this year’s Ig Nobels, the prize for comical scientific achievement.

Held less than a month before the actual Nobel Prizes are announced, the 34th annual Ig Nobel prize ceremony at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology was organized by the Annals of Improbable Research magazine’s website to make people laugh and think. Winners received a transparent box containing historic items related to Murphy’s Law — the theme of the night — and a nearly worthless Zimbabwean $10 trillion bill. Actual Nobel laureates handed the winners their prizes.

“While some politicians were trying to make sensible things sound crazy, scientists discovered some crazy-sounding things that make a lot of sense,” Marc Abrahams, master of ceremonies and editor of the magazine, said in an e-mail interview.

The ceremony started with Kees Moliker, winner of 2003 Ig Noble for biology, giving out safety instructions. His prize was for a study that documented the existence of homosexual necrophilia in mallard ducks.

“This is the duck,” he said, holding up a duck. “This is the dead one.”

After that, someone came on stage wearing a yellow target on their chest and a plastic face mask. Soon, they were inundated with people in the audience throwing paper airplanes at them.

Then, the awards began — several dry presentations which were interrupted by a girl coming on stage and repeatedly yelling “Please stop. I'm bored.” The awards ceremony was also was broken up by an international song competition inspired by Murphy's Law, including one about coleslaw and another about the legal system.

The winners were honored in 10 categories, including for peace and anatomy. Among them were scientists who showed a vine from Chile imitates the shapes of artificial plants nearby and another study that examined whether the hair on people's heads in the Northern Hemisphere swirled in the same direction as someone's hair in the Southern Hemisphere.

Other winners include a group of scientists who showed that fake medicine that causes side effects can be more effective than fake medicine that doesn't cause side effects and one showing that some mammals are cable of breathing through their anus — winners who came on stage wearing a fish-inspired hats.

Julie Skinner Vargas accepted the peace prize on behalf of her late father B.F. Skinner, who wrote the pigeon-missile study. Skinner Vargas is also the head of the B.F. Skinner Foundation.

“I want to thank you for finally acknowledging his most important contribution,” she said. “Thank you for putting the record straight.”

James Liao, a biology professor at the University of Florida, accepted the physics prize for his study demonstrating and explaining the swimming abilities of a dead trout.

“I discovered that a live fish moved more than a dead fish but not by much,” Liao said, holding up a fake fish. “A dead trout towed behind a stick also flaps its tail to the beat of the current like a live fish surfing on swirling eddies, recapturing the energy in its environment. A dead fish does live fish things.”

Professor James Liao displays a stuffed fish while accepting a prize for physics for demonstrating and explaining the swimming abilities of a dead trout during a performance at the Ig Nobel Prize ceremony at Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Mass., Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

A team of researchers perform a demonstration during a performance showing that many mammals are capable of breathing through their anus while accepting the 2024 Ig Nobel prize in physiology at the Ig Nobel Prize ceremony at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in Cambridge, Mass., Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

People in the audience throw paper airplanes toward the stage during a performance at the Ig Nobel Prize ceremony at Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Mass., Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

FILE - Students walk past the "Great Dome" atop Building 10 on the Massachusetts Institute of Technology campus in Cambridge, Mass, April 3, 2017. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, File)